GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
ARCHJEOLOGJCAL SURVEY OF INDIA
ARCHEOLOGICAL
LIBRARY
ACCESSION NO., 3H10
CALL No. 9 |3 .32 >Q^p.E.p.
T37gX79~^ ~
. .£?"■ PALESTINE
; EXPLORATION FUND.
Patron— THE KING.
", *%- J\ »'V
Quarterly Statement
FOR 1932.
P.p.f
uuft.3
+■
'"My,
l A# *
o I A.
J£jl
PUBLISHED AT THE FUND’S OFFICE,
2, HINDE STREET, MANCHESTER SQUARE, W.
11 .
INDEX TO NAMES OP AUTHORS AND TITLES
OP CONTRIBUTIONS.
British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem-
General Meeting of the
Report of, for Season 1930-31
Chxtty, The Rev. D. J., M.A. —
The Monastery of St. Euthymius
PAUJ3
35
40
188
Close, Sir Charles, K.B.E., C.B., C.M.G., F.R.S.—
Note on the Map of the Principal Excavated Sites of Palestine 220
Cook, Prof. S. A., Litt.IX—
A Nazareth Inscription on the Violation of Tombs . . * * 85
“ The Foundations of Bible History ” . . . . . * * * 88^
Reviews . , . . . . . . . . 97, 98, 99, 231, 234, 230
Crowfoot, J. W., C.B.E., M.A.—
Excavations at Samaria, 1931
The Expedition to Samaria Sebustiya ; the Forum Threshing
Floor Area • •
Recent Discoveries of the Joint Expedition to Samaria
The Joint Samaria Expedition, Proposals for 1933
Crowfoot, Grace M. —
Pots, Ancient and Modern
Doniach, N. S., Esq. —
Note on the Moabite Stone
Duncan, The Rev. J. Garrow, B.D. —
Pere Mallon’s Excavations of Teleilat Ghassul
Fitzgerald, G. M., M.A. —
Excavations at Beth-Shan in 1931
Garrod, Dorothy, M.A., B.Sc. —
Excavations in the Wady el-Mughara, 1931 . .
■«
CENTRAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL
LIBRARY, NEW DELHI.
^ oo. No. C.
*<+$•
He*
tmwjwr?
P>£-P
im ntm
- - -*»>
iii. ‘ ■ ,V . ‘ ■ :■
TAm
; m
m,
Gaster, Theodor H., Esq,—
Note on the Deity Yaz . . . . . . , . t # #
„ „ The Legend M-z-h # v I 04
Luke, JL C., C.M.G., B.Litt,—
The “ Great Burnings ” of Meiron 7 g
Mallon, Father — ■
The Five Cities of the Plain (Gen. xiv.) * , 02
Mastcrman, E. W. G., M.D. —
Reviews 164, 166, 167 , I 69
Myres, Prof. John L„ P.B.A., F.S.A., O.B.E.—
Gog and the Danger from, the North, in Ezekiel . , . . , . | 218
Naish, John, D.D. —
, The Has’ esh-Shamra, Tablets , . . .
4*o* . Tell. en-Nasbeh . , ■" * , . . , ' 204
; Narkiss, M., Esq. —
. A Dioscuri Cult in Sebustiya . * ' 210
Prehistoric Congress, the Forthcoming ,, .. .. §1
Palestine Exploration Fund, the Sixty-Seventh Annual General
\ Meeting . . .. . . . . , . . * 119
Reubeni, A,, Esq, —
Notes on Tid ‘al (Gen. xiv, 1) .. . . *. *. 104
Sukenik, E, L., Dr.-
Gleanings from the Judseo-Greek Cemetery, Jaffa , . *♦.
Note on the Fimerary Tablet of Uzziah . * . . , . . . 100
' ' V ,,
Garstang, Prof. John, M.A., D,Sc„ LL.D, —
A Third Season at Jericho : City and Necropolis
“ The Archaeology of Palestine and the Bible ”
IV.
LIST OF ILLUSTBATIONS. «
Samaria :
1. Plan of Excavations
after
PAGE
32
2, Israelite Palace
„
32
3. Detail of Masonry in Israelite Palace . .
it
32
4. Herodian Corridor Showing Israelite Wall
,'tt
32
Hellenistic Fort Wall
32
6. cc Gabinian ” Wall and Roman Foundation Walls
ft
82
7. Subterranean Corridor of the Augusteum
tf
■ : &2
8. Circular Fort and Stone Roman Walls . .
if
82
9. Plastered Room under Colonnade of the Plaestra
if
32
10. The “Helmet” Reliefs
„
32
11. View of West End of Church
ft
32
12. View of Apse at East End . . ....
}>
32
13. View of Fresco in Crypt under Church . .
ff
32
Wady eiaMughara
1. Skeleton with Dentalia and Beads
if
48
2. Skeleton with Circlet of Dentalia
, if
48
3. Close View of Skeleton
. .
if
48
A
•*, „ tt » * • * • • • • •
„
48
0. General View of Cave, showing where Neanderthal
Skeleton was Found . .
ff
48
. /
Sam art a - S e bit sti y a :
1, 2, Plans of the Forum Area
a
70
3, Israelite Wall
ff
70
■ V
4. South-West Corner of Forum, from the East . .
>>
70
, . '*
5. South-west Comer of Forum, from the North . .
ft
70
6. Foundation of South Colonnade
H ,
70
Tideilat Ghassttl, Inscribed Stones
ff
7$
Jaeea :
1* The Titulus of Theodoras
ft
82
't
2. The Memorial to Meniamin and Sara . .
**
ff
82
f
f
Samaria ? . .
1 I, II and III. Carved Ivories
If
132
i
f. ■
IV. Plan of Ancient Buildings . .
132
r ■
Beth-shan :
1, Limestone Wall with “ Israelite ” Masonry
tf
148
• - ! ; 2. Ruins of Gate- Tower with Byzantine (?) Wall
’ ’
it
148
i
PAGE
3. Building at North-West of Summit . , . .
4. Western End of Same Building
5. Door-Jamb with Hieroglyphics
6. Rooms -of Middle Bronze Age
7, , Scarabs
8. Egg-shaped Faience Rot . .
9. Roman Tombs with Loculi and Remains of Early Bronze
Age Tomb ..
10. Glass Vases from Loculi in IVth Century Tomb
11. Inscription in Mosaic Floor
after
m
148
14S
14S
148
148
148
148
1#
Pots, Ancient and Modern :
Plato I. Fig. 1. The Israelite Footbath
„ 2. Footbath from Sinjil
„ 3. Footbath from Jeba
„ 4 Cooking Pot from Church (Type 1),
Sebustiya
„ 5. Fragment of Pot from Church (Type 2),
Sebustiya
Fig. 6
Plate II. Fig. 7.
„ 8 .
» 9.
Plate III. Fig. 10.
■ ,1 1L
„ 12 .
Making Cooking Pots at Kufr Scbbad . . after
Making Cooking Pots at Jib
Burnishing with Shell, at Kufr Sebbad
Copking Rot from Jib (Photo by Mr.
Beaumont)
Handle of Cooking Pot from Tell Aj jul
Potter’s Hands while burnishing with the
Shell, Sebustiya -Kufr Sebbad Technique
The Monastery oe St. Euthymius, Khan kl-Akmar :
Plate I. General Plan of the Excavations
„ It. Plan <jf the Excavated Buildings
„ III. 1, Khan el-Ahmar from the North-East
„ 2. The Church from the West
„ IV. 1. Western Aisle of GreatOistern
2. Mediaeval Arch in North Wall of Ruins
,, V. 1. Altar and Niches of Cemetery
2. Central Vault . . . . « *
* „ VI. 1 . Broken Arch of Cistern-Head
2. Arch of Late Vault . . ...
3. West Front of Cemetery Block
4. Ruins at West Front
A Coin oe Solis (Pompeiofolis) \ ..
Map oe the Principal Excavated Sites of Palestine
187
187
187
1.87
187
181
187
187
187
187
187
187
202
202
202
202
203
202
202
m
m
2)0
GENERAL INDEX.
Albright, Prof. W. F., review of his
Richards Lectures, 221f.
' Alein, (son of ?) Ba‘al, 162-3.
Alt, Prof. Albrecht, 101.
‘Anat, the virgin goddess, 162-3.
Annual Meeting of the P.E.F., 100,
U9f.
Aspebet, Peter, 188f.
Asealon, Ashkelon, 159, 214f., 225.
Astarte worship in England, 232.
Baptisteries, 193.
Barhebraeus, 237f.
Baudissin, Count, 156.
Bauer, Prof. Hans, 157f.
Bentwich, Mr. N., review of his
England in Palestine, 164.
Bentwich, Miss, 30, 43.
Berkeley University, California, 204.
Bethpelet, 73.
“ Bil-bil ” Cypriote ware at Jericho,
152.
Blankenhorn, Prof., 53.
British School at Jerusalem, 35, 171.
Burnings ” of Meiron, 78f.
Chabot, M. J. B., 231.
Chancellor, Sir John, C.B.E., chair-
man’s address, 36.
Chitty, TheRev. I). J., 43, 188.
Clermont -Ganneau, 223, 251.
Close, Sir Charles F., 220.
Cowley, Sir Arthur, death of, 1.
Crowfoot, Mr. J. W., 8, 132, 134.
Crowfoot, Mrs., 14.
“ Cypriote ” type jar and dagger, 147.
Dalman, Prof. G., on Petra, 101.
Dalton, Canon, death of, 120.
Department of Antiquities in
Palestine, Quarterly of, 100.
Dhorme, Pere, 159f.
Dioscuri, in Sebustiya, 211.
Duncan, Mr. J. Garrow, on Teleilat
Ghassul pebbles, 77.
Dussaud, Prof. R., 157.
Eclipse, Battle of the, 217.
Eissfeldt, Prof. Otto, 160.
Euthymius, St., Monastery of, 188f*
Ewing, Dr. W., death of, 172.
Excavated Sites, Map of, facing 220.
Fernandez, Sehor Andres, boundaries
of Benjamin, lOOf.
Fisher, Prof. C. S., 9, 64ff., 225.
Fresco, in Crypt, Samaria, facing 33.
Froehnor, Collection of, 85f.
Garrod, Miss D. A. E., 43, 46.
Garstang, Prof. John, 88, 221.
Gedaliah, 206.
Granquist, Miss Helma, review of
book, on Marriage in Palestine, 169.
Guy, Mr. P. L, 0., 155, 225 .
Gyges of Lydia, 215f.
Habiru, 93, 226, 234.
Hakurat cl-Baidar, 9, 27, 33, 65, 70.
Hellenistic Pottery, 65, 208.
“ Helmet ” Reliefs, facing 33.
Herod I, coins of, 2 Ilf.
Hertz, Dr., The Chief Rabbi, 99.
Holy Fire of Jerusalem, 81.
Hyksos civilisation, 72, 74, 151.
Isis (and Homs), 132, 141.
Ivories, carved, from Samaria,
facing 132.
Jaazaniah, 206.
Jaffa, Judaeo-Greek Cemetery of, 83.
Jib, pot-making at, 183.
Karam cl-Tuteh, 10, 22, 33.
ICaram esh-Sheikh, 10, -24, 33, 07,.
Kore, the Lady, 25.
Kufr Lebbad, 179f.
Lag Boomer, festival of, 70.
Lagrange, Pore M-J„ 224.
Lavers, stone, 200.
Lods, Prof. Adolphe, 235.
Lud and Phut , 216.
Macluncs, Bishop Rennie, death of,
57.
Marriage Conditions in Palestine, 169.
Megiddo, 15 &c.
Meiron, “ Great Burnings ” of, 78.
Mcrneptah Stele, the, 159, 227L
Mishna and Talmud, 79.
Moabite {Stone, the, 102,
Mosaics and fresco (St. Eubhymius’
Monastery), 195f.
Mot, (son of ?) El, 102f.
Mott, Mr. C. E., death of, 45.
Musil, Prof., 129.
Mykenean (Myeenean), Pottery, 150,
155, 226.
Myres, Prof. J. L., ukairmau of the
B.S.A.J., 35.
M-z-h, the legend, 104.
Natufian Industry, the, 48.
Nazareth, Inscription on Violation of
Tombs, 85.
Nielsen, Hr. Ditleg, on Petra
sanctuaries, 101.
Nomads, gradual settling of, 228.
Notes and News : — Death of Sir
A. Cowley, 1 ; Mr. Crowfoot on
Ophel and Tyropoeon Valley, 1;
Churches at Jerash, 2 ; Death of
Bishop Maclnnes, 57 ; The New
Plan of Jerusalem, 58 ; Annual
Meeting of the P.E.P., 109?
Mr. Crowfoot on Samaria, 111;
Prof. Petrie on Gaza, 111;
Death of Prof. L. B. Patou, 112;
A Seal from Mizpah, 112 ; Death of
Viscount Plumer, 171 ; Death Of
Dr. Ewing, 172 ; Prof. Garstang
on Jericho, 172 ; Scarabs at Mizpah,
173.
Olmstead, Prof. A. T., 160, 234.
“ Omri-Wall ” at Samaria, 135.
Osorkon, cartouche of, 133.
Palmyra, Palmyrene Inscriptions,
231f.
Patou, Prof. Lewis Bayles, death of,
112 .
Petrie, Prof. Sir W. Blinders. on
Tell Ajjul, 73, autobiography of,
97.
Phocas, Johannes, 28f.
pihm > pileolus, 210.
Piriform Vases, absence of, 72.
Prohistoric Congress, forthcoming, 51.
Plumer, Viscount, death of, 17L
Qa’adeh, el, 9, 18f.
Qadesh, the goddess, 227.
Qatain, ed-Deir, 10, 27,
Rabbi Simon ben-Yeehai, 79.
Ramallah, pots at, 181, Boys’ School,
204. - V
Reisner, Prof., 9, II, 133, 224,
Report of Dept, of Forests and Agri-
culture in Palestine, 167.
Reynolds, Miss K, M,, death, of, 172*
Robinson, Edward, 222.
Rochester, the Lord Bishop of,
chairman’s address, 124L
Rowe, Mr. Alan, 155, 225,
Rhyton jugs, 151.
Salad, 7,9. ,• .
Salakuddin, 190.
Samaria, excavations, 8.
Scarabs j from Betk-Shan, facing 148*
Serabit script, 97f.
, Sinjil, 1791.
Solis (Pompeipolis), coin of, 210*
Sprengling, Prof. M., 237f.
Stones and pebbles, inscribed, Teleilat
Ghassul, 70.
Stratigraphy, 223.
Tabon Gave, [Mugharat ct-Tabon,
40.
Tarqu-Tarbu, 105.
Tell Ajjul, 73, 137.
Tell Beit Merslm, 222.
Tell el-Hosn (Beth-Sban), 138f.
Thureau-Dangin, M., 133. j
Thutmosis III, Scarabs at Mizpab V
173. ‘ '
Tid c al, name, 104. i
Tonneau, M. R., 86f.
Tramper, Lieut.-Comm. V, L., review
of bis Mirror of Egypt, 98. $
Umn Sail, bowl so-called, 180. ;|J
Uzziab, funerary tablet of, 10G. >V
' ■•"}
Vmcent, B&rc Hugues, 224.
Virolleaud, M. Cb., 1541 $
Wall of Jerusalem, tbe Third, 106. '?f;
Wall, tbo great, at Mizpab, 205. <V'|
Wall, tbe “ Median,” 217.
Wollhausoh, Julius, 222. ; ;
Wiener, the late Mr. H. M„ 236. :
■ ^
Yaz, tbe deity, 103. • ,
zdafi, cockle shell for burnishing, 185,
CONTENTS.
PAG-J5
Notes and Nk\vs 1
Excavations at Samaria, 1931. By J. W. Crowfoot, C.B.E.,
M.A 8
General Meeting of the British School of Arcileolouy
in Jerusalem 35
Report of the British School of Arck.eolooy for Season
1930-31 ... 40
Excavations in the Wady el-Mughara, 1931. By Miss
Dorothy Garroo, M.A., B.Sc 46
Forthcoming Prehistoric Concress . 51
The Five Cities of the Plain (Gen. xiv.), By Father
Mall on * 52
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Samaria :
1. Plan of Excavations
2. Israelite Palace
3. Detail of Masonry in Israelite Palace
4. Herodian Corridor Showing Israelite Wall
5. Hellenistic Fort Wall
(3. “ Gabinian 35 Wall and Roman Foundation
Walls
7. Subterranean Corridor of the Augusteum ,
8. Circular Fort and Stone Roman Walls
9. Plastered Room under Colonnade of the
Plaestra
10. The <k Helmet 13 Reliefs
1 1. View of West End of Church
12. View of Apse at East End
13. View of Fresco in Crypt under Church ...
Wady el-Mughaiia :
1. Skeleton with Dental la and Beads ... „ 48
2. Skeleton with Circlet of Dentalia ... 5> 48
3. Close View of Skeleton ,, 48
4. ,, j, }) ,, ... ... ... J3 48
5. General View of Cave showing where
Neanderthal Skeleton was Found ...
48
(
Quarterly Statement, January, 1932.]
THE
PALESTINE E XPLOR ATION FUND.
NOTES AND NEWS. V
We regret to announce the death of Sir Arthur Cowley, Bodleian
Librarian, Oxford, and a member of the General Committee for
many years. He was, among other things, an authority on
Samaritan, and contributed to the Q.S. on that subject in 1904. He
was also a skilled epigraphist, and was always ready to place himself
.at the Fund’s disposal when difficult questions of epigraphy arose.
We seize the opportunity to state that it is proposed to raise a
Cowley Memorial Fund for the furtherance in Oxford of Hebrew
and kindred subjects in which he was especially interested, the
foundation of a lectureship in Post-Biblical Hebrew being, it is
understood, one of the aims. Apply to Mr. G. B. Driver, Magdalen
College, Oxford.
Correction . — In the review by Sir Charles Close in the last issue
of the Quarterly Statement , p. 223/., the word Masha’a wrongly
appears as Masha’s.
Annual No. 5 (see advertisement on back cover of Quarterly
Statement) contains Mr. Crowfoot’s report on his work at Ophel and
the Tyropoeon Valley during the excavating season of 1927. He
was assisted by Mr. G. M. FitzGerald, Assistant-Director of tike
British School of Archaeology, who has written the second part of
the book dealing with the pottery and smaller finds, while Mr.
Crowfoot describes the buildings and levels, analysing the strati-
fication of the site from the earliest times to the Arab Conquest and
the Crusading period. The volume contains as frontispiece the
•Old Gate from the north-west, 22 other plates, and 21 illustrations,
there are 131 pages of letterpress and an index. Price 31s. fid. to
mon-members.
By an arrangement with Sir Flinders Petrie, Members of the
P.E.F. are enabled to purchase at half the published price the
Heports of the British School of Archaeology in Egypt dealing with
A
2 NOTES AND NEWS. *' . „ ■ ■ f
the Society’s researches in Palestine. Reciprocally, the excavation
Reports of the P.E.F. henceforth issued are available to Members
of the School in Egypt similarly at half-price. P.E.F. Members
desirous of taking advantage of this privilege should apply to the
Secretary, 2, Hinde Street, W.l. ‘ ■}
Antiques for Sale , — A small collection of antiquities from the^f j
excavations at Ophel is on view at the Museum of the Fund, % #■
Hinde Street, Manchester Square, W.l, and a number of duplicates
including pottery lamps, stamped Rhodian jar-handles, etc., are
on sale:
Miss 0. M. Finn has kindly presented to the Fund seven pieces
of Archaic Greek pottery, five vases of which are certified by the
British Museum as Corinthian ware dating from the seventh century, ;]
; b.o. Miss Finn instructs that they be offered for sale, and that the
'proceeds be devoted to the work of the Fund. Interested collectors >
are invited to call at 2, Hinde Street, and inspect them. .< 1
The new plan of Jerusalem on a scale of approximately 1 : 5,000, y;
or about 12 inches to a mile, recently published by the Pro- Jerusalem
Society, is now on sale at the P.E.F. office. Unmounted it measures
39 X 34 inches, and the price is 5s. ; mounted on cotton and folded >
to size 8x6 inches, price 9s. The latter form is the more con-
venient, as owing to its size the unmounted sheet cannot be sent
through the post without a fold. .
. ‘
Churches at Jerash . — -A Preliminary Report of the Joint Yale- 7 §
British School Expeditions to Jerash, 1928-1930, by J.
Crowfoot, C.B.E., M.A., has been published as Supplementary Paper £
Kfo. 3 by the Council of the British School of Archaeology in y|
Jerusalem, and can be obtained at 2, Hinde Street. Price 5s.
The reduced price to members of the P.E.F. or B.S.A. J. is 2s. 6d.
NOTES AND NEWS.
3
Tke library of the Palestine Exploration Fund contains some
duplicate volumes. They may be purchased, and a list, with
the price of each volume, has been prepared, and can be obtained
on application.
The list of books received will be found on p. 4.
It may be well to mention that plans and photographs alluded
to in the reports from Jerusalem and elsewhere cannot all be
published, but they are preserved in the office of the Fund, where
they may be seen by subscribers.
The Committee gratefully acknowledge the following special
contribution front
£ s. d.
Mrs. Traquair (for equal division P.E.P. and B.S. A. J.) 10 0 0
A complete set of the Quarterly Statements , 1869-1910, containing
some of the early letters (now scarce), with an index, 1869-1910, bound
in the Palestine Exploration Fund cases, can be had. Price on application
to the Secretary, 2, Hinde Street, Manchester Square, W.l.
The price of a complete set of the translations published by the
Palestine Pilgrims’ Text Society, in 13 volumes, with general index,
bound in clotb, is £15 15s. Subscriber’s price £14 14s. A catalogue
describing the contents of each volume can be had on application to
the Secretary, 2, Hinde Street, Manchester Square, W.l.
The Museum at the Office of the Fund, 2, Hinde Street, Manchester
Square, W.l, is open to visitors every week-day from 10 o’clock till 5 except
Saturdays, when it is closed at 1 p.m.
4
NOTES AND NEWS.
Subscribers in U.S.A. to the work of the Fund will please note that
they can procure copies of any of the publications from Prof. Randall,
Honorary General Secretary to the Fund (see address on cover).
The Committee have to acknowledge with thanks the following : —
The Foundations of Bible History : Joshua and Judges. By John
Garstang. London, 1931.
Seventy Years in Archaeology. By Sir Flinders Petrie. London, 1931.
The Mirror of Egypt in the Old Testament. By Lieut.-Comm. Victor L.
Trumper. London, 1931.
Pentateuch and Haftorahs . I, Genesis ; II, Exodus. By the Chief
Rabbi. Oxford University Press.
The Near East
Journal of Egyptian Archaeology , November. Primitive methods of
measuring time, by R. W. Sloley ; the emblem of Min, by G. A.
Wainwright.
Liverpool Annals of Archceology and Anthropology , xviii, 3-4. Statues
of an enthroned Babylonian goddess, by E. D. van Buren ; excava-
tion of the palace of Ashumasirpal, by R. C. Thompson and R. W.
Hutchinson.
Antiquaries Journal , October. Excavations at Ur, 1930-1, by C. L.
Woolley.
Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland , June.
The Expository Times , November. Recent Biblical archaeology, by the
Rev. J. W. Jack.
The Scottish Geographical Journal.
Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, lxi, 1931. Report on
the human remains found at Kish, by L. H. D. Buxton and D. T.
Rice.
New J udcea .
Some Tombs of Tell en-Nasbeh discovered in 1929. By W. F. Bad&.
Palestine Institute Publication No. 2 ; Berkeley, U.S.A., 1931.
The Open Court , October. Among the Beduins of N, Arabia, by Henry
Field.
American Journal of Philology , July- September.
Geographical Review (New York), October.
NOTES AND NEWS,
5
Journal of the American Oriental Society, September.
Jewish Quarterly Review, October. The historicity of the patriarchs,
by Ed. Konig.
The Homiletic Review.
Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York).
History of Palestine and Syria to the Macedonian Conquest. By A. T.
Olmstead. Scribner’s, New York and London, 1931.
Journal of the Society of Oriental Research , Jan. -April. North Arabia
and the ancient Sealand, by R. P. Dougherty.
Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research , October. Excava-
tions at Beth-zur, by 0. R. Sellers and W. F. Albright ; excavations
at Jerash, by C. 0. McCown ; the archaeology of W. Asia at the
Leyden Congress, by W. F. Albright ; etc.
Journal Asiatique , ccxvii, 2. Stratification of languages and peoples
in the Prehistoric Near East, by E. Forrer.
Bulletin de Correspomlance Hellbnique , 1930, ii.
Associazione Internationale Studi Mediterranei , August-September.
I det Hellige Land. By Hans Kjaer. (The Danish excavations in Shiloh.)
Archiv Orientalni , iii, 2. The first contacts of the Romans with the
Parthians and the occupation of Syria, by J. Dobias ; progress of
the decipherment of Hittite, by B. Hrozny ; Oriental religious lore
in Greek magical papyri from Egypt, by Th. Hopfner.
Le Monde Oriental , xxv. 1-3. The Old Sinaitic inscription, No. 358, by
J. Lindblom ; Herodotus and modern reconstructions of the tower
of Babel, by Axel Moberg ; Dan iii, 21, by N. S. Nyberg ; etc.
Littem Orientates , October. Basque, an African language, by Fr. von
den Velden.
Zeitschrift fiir die Alttest. Wissenschafl, 1931, 3-4. Old Mesopotamian
geography, by K. Jensen ; old Oriental influences in Rabbinic litera-
ture, by B. Murmelstein, etc. (Valuable survey of periodicals, etc.)
Archiv fitr Orientforschung , vii, 1-2. Cyrus I. a contemporary of
Ashurbanipal, by E. F. Weidner ; the bas-reliefs of Ashurbanipal’s
Arabian wars, by D, Opitz ; the Carian language, by F. Bork;
problems of Eg. prehistory by Fr. v. Bissing ; reports of excavations,
etc. (including Tell Beit Mirsim, by W. F. Albright).
Orientalistische Literaturzeitung . Many important reviews, including
Bauer on Grimme, Altsinaitisch. Buchstabenmsehriften (Nov.,
col. 960); articles on Old Cretan, by A. v. Blumenthal (col. 785) ;
6
1ST OTES AHD HEWS.
New Hyksos king, by W. Wreszinski (col. 1009) ; “ Abraham’s
bosom,” by M. Mieses (col. 1018).
Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society , xi, 3-4. Notes of Palestinian
prehistory, by E. Neuville ; notes on the Ghor, by A. Mallon ;
contributions to the historical geography of the Negeb, by A. Alt ;
the mountain sanctuaries in Petra and its environs, by Ditlef Nielsen ;
Arabic inscriptions of Gaza, by L. A. Mayer ; e Attarah and Nasbeh in
the Middle Ages, by E.-M. Abel, etc.
The Quarterly of the Department of Antiquities in Palestine , i, 2. Jeru-
salem, 1931. A rock-cut tomb at Nazareth ; a hoard of Byzantine
coins ; tetradrachms of the Second Eevolt ; concise bibliography of
excavations in Palestine, etc.
Al-Mashrik , September. Antioch as a tourist centre, by P. Lammens ;
etc. October : the American excavations at Beisan, by P. Marmardji ;
Dilebta, by P. Eaphael, etc. November : the American excavations
at Beisan, by P. Marmardji.
La Revue de V Academic Arabs : Damascus.
Sixihne Rapport sur les Travaux de V Academic Arabs.
Davar .
NEA SHIN
Bible Lands, October. Notes on the ethical system of Judaism, by
Canon Danby.
Prom Mr. Pilcher : Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society .
The Committee will be grateful to any subscribers who may be disposed
to present to the Fund any of the following books : —
The Memoirs of the Survey of Western Palestine .
The Quarterly Statement , from 1869 up to date.
Due de Luynes, Voyage d la Mer Morte (1864) ; published about 1874.
K. von Eaumer, Der Zng der Isrdliten. (Leipzig, 1837).
Lagarde, Onomastica Sacra (1887).
Le Strange Palestine Under the Mosle?ns (1890).
New Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, English Translation. Original
text edited, formulated, and punctuated by Michael L. Eodkinson.
Eevised and corrected by the Eev. Dr. Isaac M. Wise. Published
by the New Amsterdam Book Company, New York. Yol. i.
Sabbath already in the Library ; subsequent volumes wanted.
NOTES AND NEWS,
7
Whilst desiring to give publicity to proposed identification
and other theories advanced by officers of the Fund and contributors
to the pages of the Quarterly Statement , the Committee wish it to,
be distinctly understood that by publishing them in the Quarterly
Statement they do not necessarily sanction or adopt them.
Form of Bequest to the Palestine Exploration Fund.
I give to the Palestine Exploration Fund, London, the sum of
to be applied towards the General Work of the Fund ; and t direct that the
said sum be paid, free of legacy Duty, and that the Receipt of the Treasurer
of the Palestine Exploration Fund shall be a sufficient discharge for the same.
Note . — Three Witnesses are neePmtttryUt.it 11/// try the Tmw of the United
States of America, and Two by the Law of the United Khvjdmn.
8
EXCAVATIONS AT SAMARIA, 1931.
By J. W. Crowfoot, C.B.E., M.A. F.S.A.
Harvard University, the Palestine Exploration Fund, the
Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the British School of Archaeo-
logy in Jerusalem are associated together as partners in the present
Samaria Expedition and the British Academy has made a munificent
donation from the Schweich Fund on behalf of the two British
Institutions.
The chief credit for the promotion of the expedition must be
given to Professor Lake, who not only raised the bulk of the funds
but was present for the greater part of the first campaign and, in
particular, undertook the main share of the photographic work.
The management and supervision of the field work was divided
between the writer as Field Director, Dr. E. L. Sukenik as Assistant
Field Director, Miss K. M. Kenyon, Mr. A. G. Buchanan and Dr.
C. Chapman. Mr. Buchanan acted as Surveyor to the expedition
and Mr. J. Pinkerf eld as Architect. Mrs. Robert New undertook the
epigraphic work and helped Professor Lake with the photography.
Mrs. Crowfoot looked after the registration of objects and all that
this involves, besides managing the camp : she was assisted by
Miss Ann Fuller and Miss Muriel Bentwich who was appointed to
a Robert Mond studentship as artist. The Rev. N. B. Wright studied
the many Rhodian jar handles and the coins. Mr. N. Reiss worked
as draughtsman during the last fortnight, and the field staff: was
strengthened by the arrival of Professor Blake in the latter half of
June. We had six Egyptian foremen, three of whom had worked
with Professor Reisner on the early expeditions and a local force
of workers, men and women, which never exceeded 250 in number,
though we could easily have engaged twice as many if we had
wanted them. The first party moved into camp on the 28th March,
and excavation was started on the 1st April : the work continued
until the beginning of July, the last of our party leaving Sebustiyah
on the 10th of that month.
EXCAVATIONS AT SAMARIA, 193L
9
I — .Introductory . 1
It is more than twenty years since Professor Beisner closed his
splendid work at Samaria. Most of the areas which were excavated
he was obliged to fill in again, but three sites of especial interest, the
Augusteum built by Herod on the summit, the Basilica near the
threshing floor, and the west gate, were bought outright and left
open. All three have suffered grievously in the interim, partly
from weather but still more from the depredations of the people
whose hunger for building stones is quite insatiable. The remains
at Samaria, in fact, would be quite unintelligible if it were not for
the admirably full reports issued by Lvon, Beisner and Fisher.
After repeated visits to the site it seemed best to Dr. Sukenik
and myself to start work in five different spots. Two of these
were close to the two areas where the greatest of Beisner’s discoveries
were made, the areas called by him the Summit and the Lmver
Terrace : the other three were chosen with the view of opening up •
new ground. The owners of the fields were approached, and,
thanks to the good offices of the District Officers, Mr. Bailey and
Mr. Yazgi, it was agreed by both parties that the Mayor of Nablus,
Suliman Bey Tukan, should be invited to act as arbitrator.
Suliman Bey kindly consented to do so and satisfactory terms for
the leases, for compensation for crops and for trees, were finally
settled on the 30th March.
The five fields which we leased are designated in the following
note by the initial letter of the principal word in the Arabic name by
which they are known to the villagers. They are ; —
1. Q. — El-Qa‘adeh. This name, which is given to a series
of fields on the summit of the old acropolis, is the same as that
given to a corresponding portion of the site at Gezer. The section
taken by us lay alongside the great dump of our predecessors which
stretches across the summit from north to south, dividing the west
end which they dug from the rest. It was on the west side of the
dump that they uncovered the foundations of Herod’s Augusteum
1 For the conclusions presented in Sections II. -V. the writer is solely
responsible, but they were reached only after i-. -p.-.ii di.-eussions in Samaria
with Dr. Sukenik and both in Samaria and in Kmiiai-.d with Miss Kenyon and
Mr. Buchanan, to all three of whom he is ply imt-bii-d. For help in the
paragraphs dealing with the Church in Sve.'.n:. V. i»» U under au equally
heavy debt to Mr. Pinkerfeld.
10
EXCAVATIONS AT SAMARIA, 193L
and a part of the royal palaces of the Israelite kings, Omri, Ahah,
and their successors.
2. D. = Qatam el-Deir. This name means the Fields of the
Monastery, and it. covers a series of fields on the south slope of
the acropolis which continue the line of Reisner’s Loiver Terrace.
There were no certain traces of a monastery here before we began to
dig, but in the course of work we discovered a church in the middle
of the present Christian cemetery besides other monastic buildings?
and it is of great interest to find a memory of this foundation
surviving in the present field name. The section of D which we
have excavated lies immediately south of our fields in Q.
3. B. = Hakurat el-Baidar. This name, the Garden of the
Threshing Floor, is given to one or two gardens south-west of the
village threshing floor which occupies the area identified by our
predecessors as the Roman forum. The garden 'taken by us lay due
south of the basilica, but separated from it by a second garden.
4. T. =s JKaram el-Tiiteh. This name, the Orchard of the
Mulberry, is given to a level field on a lower terrace due north of the
palace area which our predecessors dug : it is marked on their map
as camp 3. The field was sown this year to barley and wheat, and
contained a few ancient olive trees, but no mulberries.
5. S. = Karam el-Sheikh. This, the Orchard of the Sheikh,
is a low lying depression to the north of the threshing floor. It is
identified as a Hippodrome on old maps. The northern part of the
area which we leased belongs to the present Mnkhtar of the village.
Kamel e Abd el-Hadi, and the name is probably derived from one
of his ancestors who owned the whole of it.
The excavation of four out of the five fields just mentioned was
completed according to plan, hut on Q we did not finish as much
as we hoped. Work was slowed down here by two unexpected
circumstances : in the first place, the dump of the previous expedi-
tion had spread over the east corridor of the Augusteum and we were
obliged to cut a large slice off this dump to recover the plan of the
corridor. In the second place we were misled by the present
contour of the ground : what is now the northern edge of the summit
lies about 25 metres north of the original edge in the Israelite period,
and the rock at this end was therefore much lower down that we
anticipated, and the accumulation of debris to be moved correspond-
EXCAVATIONS AT SAMARIA, 1931. U
ingly heavier. Eeisner did not carry his excavation up to the
edge of the summit anywhere, and so we had no data to work upon,
except the modern contour which was deceptive. , ,,
In addition to our work on these five fields, we excavated a few
tombs, one small group north of the city, a second on the slopes
above S., and a third small group to the east of the village.
II. The Israelite Period.
The most important remains of the Israelite period which we
found are the section of the city wall uncovered inB. and the remains
of the royal palaces uncovered in Q. and I). (Bee Plate L).
The former of them was described and illustrated in the July
number of the Quarterly Statement at sufficient length, and we have
only to add that the Department of Antiquities has decided, to our
great satisfaction, to expropriate the area so that this wall may be
left permanently on view. In the early summer, while the threshing
season was in full force, it was impossible to make the excavations
which are necessary before we attempt to reconstruct the plan of
the city gate, if gate it is, but in the autumn, when threshing is over,
we hope to return to the attack.
The chief remains of the royal palaces which were discovered by
Reisner consisted of two detached groups of building and a tank
which he identified with the Pool of Samaria , the whole being enclosed
by a great wall of which he found traces on three sides of the west end
of the summit. A series of chambers in groups of three, a larger
one fianked by two small ones, abutted on the outer face of this
wall along its whole length, but very little of the original masonry
was found anywhere, and the greater part of Fisher’s plan is based
on the rock-cut trenches in which the foundations of the walls were
laid. Our finds include what we take to be continuations of the
north and south enclosure walls : these finds were made in the middle
of Q. b, the north section of Q., and at the north end of D. in sections
Dd. and Df. The latter were the more extensive and to these we
turn first.
Before we began work ; the ground in D. sloped steadily from
north to south at a gradient of 1 in 5 (9 m. in 45 m.). It ended in
a sort of gulley which led down to the colonnaded street, the surface
wash being held up on the east by the ruins of the church in the
12
EXCAVATIONS AT SAMARIA, 1931.
Christian cemetery and on the west by the dumps of our pre-
decessors. Excavation showed that this slope concealed a succes-
sion of terraces and scarps running east and west, parallel to the
dividing line between Q. and D. : both terraces and scarps were
partly artificial, partly natural. The south wall of the palace com-
plex stood on the outer edge of the top terrace which was 8 m.
south of Q., and the rock was scarped perpendicularly below it.
The line of the wall here was cleared for a distance of 40 m. east of
the most easterly point cleared by Eeisner.
The surface of the rock was dressed to receive the stones all along
this line, but of the masonry very little was found in position, that
little however being highly characteristic (see illustrations 2 and 3).
The stones in the bottom course are bossed with a wide margin on
the upper edge like the stones in the city wall : the stones in the upper
courses are smoothly dressed like the stones in the Israelite -walls
under the Augusteum, and the jointing is admirable. The coursing
is not continuous like that in the city wall, and very small patch
stones are used to fill up gaps as in Gothic masonry : the patch work
in this wall is a triumph of metieulosity, for the smaller of the two
squared patch stones measures only 35 mm. by 45. Dr. Fisher
noted an example of similar patch work, and it seems to be as
characteristic a feature of the fine ashlar in Samaria as the peculiar
drafting is of the bossed work.
There was a row of rooms on the terrace 5 m. below, like the rooms
which Reisner found abutting on the walls further west, but all the
rock trenches which had been cut to carry the foundation walls of
these rooms were empty except one, in which the remains of two
courses were left : the stones in these courses were naturally un-
bossed and very loosely fitted together. Six foundation trenches
in all were found in this stretch, the four which belonged to the three
central rooms were about a metre deeper than the others and there
were cuttings on the terrace which suggested that these three rooms
formed a bastion projecting in front of the rest to command the gullev
below. Below this terrace there was a second drop, also about 5 m.
deep, then a third terrace, and then a third scarp, only about a
metre deep, against which the city wall was probably built in
Israelite times, though the existing remains belong to a later period.
On the south face of the palace complex we were able to join
our work directly to our predecessors 5 ; on the north face it was
EXCAVATIONS AT SAMARIA, 1931,
13
impossible because their work was not carried so far east at this
end and because there is the dump also between us. Here too,
however, we f ound traces of a boundary wall constructed on a similar
plan. Underneath the subterranean corridor which led to stairs
of the Herodian temple, there was a series of walls which appear to
be the south and three cross walls of two small rooms like those
abutting on the south and west walls (see Plate III. 4.) The cross walls
were broken off close to the brink of a steep natural declivity, the
north edge of the original summit, and a doubtful cutting in the rock
was the only trace of the outer wall. Further to the east there were
rock cuttings of the usual Israelite type, large stones like those which
they used, and deposits of black debris in the middle of blocks of
earlier yellow fillings like that which Eeisner found on the Israelite
level : the pillars of black debris clearly mark the places of vanished
walls. The line of the level of occupation here was indicated by an
offset on one of the walls and a break in the character of the filling,
but this level, which was only a few centimetres below the floor of
the subterranean corridor floor, was unfortunately also the level of
occupation down to the Hellenistic period, and both Hellenistic and
Israelite objects were found in the various fillings below it. It
appears, therefore, that in this area we must be prepared to find many
later intrusions in the Israelite level.
The other Israelite remains in the north strip of Q. were
tantalisingly fragmentary. About 16 m. south of the line of the
north boundary wall there was a long scarp running east-west, and
in front of it, in the rock trench, remains of three courses of typical
Israelite masonry, the stones finely jointed and only slightly bossed;
other scarps run north at right angles to this line, and there was
evidently a building here which abutted on the inside of the north
palace wall.
In Q.a, further south, the rock rises to a level which averages
some five metres higher than that on which the Israelite remains
in Q.b stand, and in this strip of the central area we did not find
any trace of early building. There were signs, on the other hand, of
extensive quarrying and there were some very large cisterns. The
most spectacular of these was excavated along a line of natural
fissure : a flight of 30 steps, partly hewn in the rock, partly built
on it, led down to a chamber 15 m. long by 9 high by 2.5 wide, and
a second chamber, 20 by 6 by 3, opened into this from the east.
14
EXCAVATIONS AT SAMABIA, 1931.
Another large cistern, also apparently following a line of natural
fissure, lay east of the passage which led into the first. A third,
7 by 4 by 3, lay to the north west and was connected with a stepped
vat. A fourth, 15 by 4 by 3, lay further north, and there was a fifth
under the corridor to the south west which we were unable to
examine. All the cisterns which we entered had been in use down
to the 3rd or 4th century a.d. at least and the objects found in them
were of late date, but the shafts or steps leading to them showed
evidence of repeated reconstructions necessitated by changes in the
level of occupation, and the reservoirs below were no doubt excavated
in early days. Their presence is probably sufficient reason to
explain the absence of old buildings in this area. The number of
them is striking, but this section is not peculiar in this respect.
Reisner found several in the areas which he excavated and we found
several in every field except S, There is no natural spring close to
Samaria and that probably is why this dominating site was not
occupied before the time of Omri.
The ordinary red and brown burnished ware of the period was
found in all our sections, and from the tomb areas north and east
of the city scores of basketfuls of Israelite potsherds were collected.
One vessel of an entirely new type came from the tombs, a large oval
foot-bath of coarse red burnished ware : the bottom was flat, the
walls straight, the rim slightly incurved ; it had four rudimentary
ledge-handles on the inside, and in the middle was a flat foot-rest
raised on two pillars exactly like the rest used by shoe-blacks. One
complete vessel of this type and fragments of two or three others
were found in the tombs, and, before we left Samaria, Mrs. Crowfoot
and Mr. Wright when visiting a modern native pottery at Singil,
some 20 miles away, had the good fortune to find similar earthenware
foot-baths there : the modern Singil foot-baths are rather smaller,
they are circular, the sides are flared and the foot-rest is supported
half on the rim and half on a central pillar, but their relation to our
new Samaria type is obvious. Further, the Singil pots are made
specially for ritual washings and the Samaria examples all came
from tombs which suggests that they too were used for ritual
ablutions : in function as well as in form the Singil and Samaria
pots may be connected genetically.
Fragments of a very fine fabric of pottery were found in the same
tomb and also on Q. : these fragments came mainly from small
EXCAVATIONS AT SAMARIA, 1931. 15
circular bowls with flat bottoms and straight sides, and the bottoms
are decorated on the outside with concentric circles ; the paste is, fine
and well baked and the fragments very thin, contrasting in every"
respect with the coarse ware found with them. Megiddo is, SO .fer,
as we know, the only other site on which this ware has been found.
Other small finds included a great quantity of animal figurines
and a few human ones, mostly from the tombs but also from Q.
and T. ; two inscribed weights from Q. ; and several circular cosmetic
saucers of stone like those found at Gezer and elsewhere — these also
came mostly from the tombs, but one each was found on B. and D.
It will be seen that the excavations at Samaria promise a flood
of light on the period of the Israelite kingdom. The royal palaces
are unique in Palestine : at the west end the court measures
more than 125 m. from north to south ; from east to west it was
larger, hut though we have traced it 40 metres further east than
our predecessors, we have not yet reached the eastern boundary.
These dimensions show that the palaces of Omri and Ahab were
conceived on the same scale as the palaces of the great kings of
Assyria. The masonry is far the finest of the period which has been
found in Palestine, and it is only at Megiddo that there is any work
at all comparable with it. The walls in question at Megiddo are
almost certainly connected with Solomon and through Solomon
with Tyre : the connections of Samaria with Sidon and Damascus
are hardly less famous than those of Solomon with Tyre. We have
a double reason therefore for deriving this style of architecture and
building from Damascus and the cities of Phoenicia.
The major problems which we shall have to tackle in the next
campaign are obvious. In the first place we shall have to find out
about the supposed gate in B. Secondly, we must try to find the line^
of the wall round the acropolis on the north side of the summit :
we found no trace of it in T* this season and we propose to look for it
next on the north slope immediately below Q.b. Thirdly, we shall
have to follow the south wall of the palace enclosure in D. further east
until we reach the south-east corner from which we shall naturally
turn north.
III. — The Hellenistic Period.
From the time of its capture by Sargon II. about 722 to the
coming of Alexander the Great nearly 400 years later, Samaria, so
far as we know, never ceased to be an important city, and our
16
EXCAVATIONS AT SAMARIA, 1931.
predecessors attributed various walls and classes of objects to the
centuries in question. These walls have not the distinguishing
characters of Israelite work and in the areas dug by us we were
unable to satisfy ourselves that any of our post-Israelite walls were
certainly earlier than the Hellenistic period. As we have already
seen, the Hellenistic level of occupation in Q. was approximately the
same as the Israelite level, this part of Samaria was inhabited
continuously down to the time of its destruction by Hyrcanus at the
end of the 2nd century b.c. and, as is regularly the case, the later
generations pulled down and re-used their predecessors’ buildings so
completely that it is impossible to identify the earlier work. At
the close of this period conditions changed : Hyrcanus destroyed
the place utterly as Josephus tells us, and it was deserted for some
years : the new town which rose up after the Hellenistic period was
built on the top of the debris which had accumulated during these
years, the level of occupation was raised proportionately, and the
bulk of what lies below the new foundations is easily recognisable as
the work of the last builders before the desertion.
In Q.b, north of the north boundary of the Israelite palace, we
found a continuation of the massive fort wall which Reisner found
further west. (Plate III. 5.) Reisner attributed this wall to the
Babylonio-Greek period, but in our section it cannot be earlier than
the Hellenistic period. The Israelite wall, as we saw, broke off
abruptly on the brink of a rocky declivity, and the fort wall, which
was about 4 metres thick, was built up from the foot of this declivity.
The space between the rock and the wall served the builders as a
constructional ditch : from the horizontal lines of stratification in
the filling of this space, which was 8.9 m. deep, it was plain that it
had been filled in as the wall was built course by course, and as it
contained a great deal of Hellenistic pottery and only a single
fragment of black-glazed ware and a few Israelite sherds, it was
obvious that the wail was Hellenistic.
The line of this wall was traced by us for 28 metres from west to
east, and at the north-east corner of our strip the constructional
ditch used by its builders cut transversely across the lines of two
earlier walls. Except for a few large stones both these walls had
disappeared, but their place was indicated by two blocks of black
filling on either side of a broader block of yellow filling, the sharp
top of which showed the original floor level. These walls are con-
17
' EXCAVATIONS AT SAMARIA, 1931*
nected with others, some 16 metres further south, which were built
above the Israelite E.-W. scarp at this point, and the floor level
here, which was 10-20 cm, above the Israelite floor level, crossed
the line of the destroyed Israelite walls which had stood in th6
trench below the scarp. In the yellow filling under the floor at
the north-east corner we found fragments of Rhodian ware, and
under the floor level farther south an early Hellenistic sandstone
base, and from these finds we conclude that the transverse walls
which were destroyed by the builders of the fort wall also belonged
probably to the Hellenistic period.
Further south in the cistern area in Q.a there are some walls on
the rock which may belong to the Hellenistic period and there is a
blind of sticky chocolate-coloured soil some 30 cm. thick which may
mark the Hellenistic level of occupation at this point ; the evidence
of the objects found under this band only permits us to say that it is
pre-Herodian, it might be Gahinian or it might belong to the second
Hellenistic period, which is represented by the fort wall
In D. there is no zone of debris like that in Q. separating the
Hellenistic work from later work, and many walls of the Roman
and the Christian periods are carried down to the rock here, but
there are some massive fragments on the spurs below the Israelite
wall, which are probably Hellenistic. To this period also we are
now disposed to attribute the “cyclopean” patch, which was
described in the previous report. Dr. Albright has recently dis-
covered at Beth-Zur an intrusive patch of the same megalithic type
in an earlier bronze age wall which he on general grounds assigns
to the Hellenistic period.
In our other fields we found no constructions which we could
identify as Hellenistic with any confidence, though we made a
number of small finds of the period everywhere. In T. we found
an admirably carved inscription recording a dedication to Bara pis
and Isis ; on epigraphic grounds the inscription may he assigned
to the 3rd century b.c., it was found on the rock under some Roman
constructions and the find spot gives no clue to the position of the
shrine. In B. a fine Ptolemaic scarab, with a rider on it, w r as found.
Elsewhere coins, Rhodian jar handles, black glazed ware, red ware
of the sigillata type and pale green faience were the most certain
relics of this period. Reisner found about a thousand Rhodian jar
B
18
EXCAVATIONS AT SAMARIA, 1932 ,
handles, we have found over two hundred already ; these numbers
show what a prosperous place Samaria was and, when the inscriptions
have been studied further, they may indicate more precisely when it
was most prosperous. The commoner pottery of this period seems
to have been either a local imitation of the foreign fabrics already
mentioned, or a continuation of the old Israelite fabrics.
IV. — The Roman Period.
When we pass from the Hellenistic to the Roman age we pass
comparatively from darkness into daylight. Roman constructions,
many of them readily identifiable, were found in all our fields,
and except in B. and D. there was little trace of any subsequent
work, indeed, in many places Roman buildings still rise above the
surface. The extent of the remains shows what a great place
Samaria-Sebaste was in the first three or four centuries of our era,
but the destruction none the less has been lamentably systematic.
Our predecessors found practically nothing above the foundations
on the site of the temple of Augustus, and even the ground plan of
this temple cannot be reconstructed with certainty ; our experience
was no better on the site of another great temple which we discovered
in T. Much was pulled down probably in mediseval days when the
Crusaders built the magnificent cathedral of S. John the Baptist,
but more perhaps in recent days to build houses in Sebustiyah and
Nablus. The passion of the people for building stones must be
seen to be believed, though, to judge from other sites, they may
not be worse here than elsewhere. In three fields we found the
remains of lime-kilns which tell their own sad tale.
El-Qa‘deh.
According to Josephus Samaria was restored by Pompey and re-
built by Gabinius, after whom it was, Cedrenus says, 1 also renamed.
To Gabinius therefore we may attribute a great patch in Q.b on the
north side of the Hellenistic fort wall at a point where it had been
breached down to the rock. (Plate iv, 6.) Behind this patch
the level of occupation was raised about 2.5m. above the previous
floor level and the first house that was built on the new level had
a much solider wall on the north side than elsewhere, but only a
1 Quoted by Jones in 1931, p. 79.
EXCAVATIONS AT SAMARIA, 1931,
19
fragmentary plan of the foundations of this house can be recovered,
and on the west these were reconstructed a few years later, when
the Augusteum was built. A new vaulted cistern in the middle
of the Hyreanian debris (Q.b) and part of the new connections with
four of the rock-cut cisterns further south (Q.a) may date from the
same period.
Herod’s Augusteum and large parts of the temple court in front
and of a subterranean corridor to the KW. were cleared by our
predecessors. The corresponding corridor to the N.E, ran under
the dump along the west side of Q.a and Q.b, (Plate iv, 7.) We
followed the line of this corridor in our field and found that it
originally reached beyond the present edge of the summit. The
floor of the corridor was about 4.5 m. below the door of the temple
court and only a few centimetres above the Israelite-Hellenistic
level of occupation, and its construction completely changed the
north contour of the summit much in the same way as the Herodian
substructures changed the southern end of the temple hill at Jeru-
salem. Here in Samaria the Israelite constructions, which were
described above, mark the natural north edge of the summit : this
edge was pushed further north, first, some six metres when the fort
was built, and, secondly, over twenty metres more by the Herodian
corridor. The two corridors were evidently built to create a
tremendously extended platform and their function was on a smaller
scale like that of the galleries under the temple courts at Baalbek
and Jerash. We hope to learn more about them when we excavate
the north slope immediately below Q.
Both corridors were completely remodelled at some time or
other. At first a row of pillars ran down the middle carrying a line
of double arches : subsequently the corridor was narrowed by the
construction of walls inside the original walls, the floor was raised
above the bases of the central pillars, and a single vault was thrown
across the whole span. In four respects our corridor differs from
that described by Fisher : in plan it runs paralleHo the west corridor
not splayed as he suggests, the masonry does not conform nearly so
regularly to the Herodian norm, the Herodian roof was laid on a
succession of arches 2 m. apart — not on a continuous vault, and the
inner secondary wall was not quite parallel to the first. We found
no evidence to date the reconstruction which Fisher assigns to the
Severan age. After the reconstruction the corridor was converted
20
EXCAVATION'S AT SAMARIA* 1931.
to some industrial purpose which we could not identify : the floor
was raised again and a long section of the east half was divided into
a series of troughs separated by low transverse steps ; both troughs
and partitions were cemented and the edges curved, and five large
pots of sharply ribbed ware were found sunk at intervals on the
cement ; the partitions between the troughs contained several
voussoirs which suggest that the gallery had already collapsed;
two vats further north and two channels running into the corridor
from under the house walls further east probably belong to the same
installation.
East of the corridor the upper strata were filled with an almost
continuous conglomeration of foundations belonging to a succession
of houses and the subterranean cisterns and vats which served them.
The ground floors of successive buildings seem to have been on
much the same level, those to the north in Q.b being rather lower
than those in Q.a even when they were certainly contemporary. It
will be convenient to reverse the usual order and begin with the
latest of these.
The principal cc room J> in the latest house was a court sur-
rounded by walks paved with mosaics which were decorated with
narrow black stripes on a white ground. The north passage opened
on a room with a more elaborate floor which had a broad border
with a double spiral in black and a central field once filled with
minute tessellue measuring about one millimetre square : the cubes
in the border were also small, being less than a centimetre square on
the average. A potsherd with a rouletted pattern, which may be
dated about 300 a.d., was found under the mosaics and the house
cannot therefore be earlier than the 4th century which may also be
the date of the industrial installation in the corridor. Quantities of
stucco fixed on tiles and stamped with a geometrical repeating
pattern came from the superstructure of the house, but there was
not a single course left above ground level. North of the room with
the spiral mosaic there was a room with a plastered floor connected
with a stepped vat which had been remodelled at least four times,
and to the east a passage paved with mosaics which were found
tilted on end : east of this passage there was a large tiled room a few
centimetres lower than the passages round the court but part of the
same house. The passage leading into the -great cistern, which was
described in Section II., opened on the east side of the court ; the
EXCAVATIONS AT S AMARU, 1931.
21
upp e r part of this passage, which may be contemporary with our
house, was roofed with large flat slabs of stone leant against each
other like some found by Reianer : a lower section was vaulted in
the same style as the cistern we have assigned to the Gabinian
period.
Immediately under the mosaics on the west side of the court
there was a door sill which must have belonged to a house on
approximately the same plan, and there was a vat beside the passage
leading into the cistern which may have belonged to the same house,
as it was filled in and covered with paving stones when the mosaic
house was in use.
Under the tiled room there were the walls of a mysterious circular
construction surrounded on all sides by very massive walls which
cut through an earlier series of walls. (Plate v, 8.) The circular
building cannot have been a granary as neither walls nor bottom
were cemented, and we are disposed to regard it as a small military
tower with a blockhouse attached, erected perhaps during one of the
disturbed periods in the 3rd century. The surrounding walls were
mainly built of re-used stones, most of them squared, drafted and
plastered : the painting on the plaster was so bright that they had
evidently come from some building which had been recently
decorated, and this building we may identify with a series of long
rooms running north to south in Q.b. The walls forming these rooms
were 1.1 m. broad and the foundations were deep : the vaulted
cistern which we have ascribed to the Gabinian restoration was no
longer in use, the new foundation wall running down the middle
of it, partly through the vault and partly under it, but we found
no cross walls, and it is possible that the broad “ Gabinian ” wall
at the north end was still in use. The plaster on the stones was
decorated in the architectural style with representations of cornices
with egg and dart mouldings and palmetto friezes and painted
shadows from the projecting members, the chief colours being buff
and purple. A date in the latter half of the 2nd century a.d.
would suit the context.
The plan of these walls is complicated, but the conditions are
precisely what might be expected in an area which was occupied
continuously as a residential quarter for some four centuries or so,
and the medley of building may become more intelligible after
another season’s work. There was no evidence of building later
22
EXCAVATIONS AT SAMARIA, 1931.
than the mosaic house but there were traces of an old series of field
walls, suggesting that it was cultivated in quite early days.
Kuram el-Tuteh .
This field is one of the few level expenses in Samaria, but it is of
comparatively recent origin and it coincides with the temenos of a
large Roman temple. Originally there was a flat spur of rock running
north across the middle of the area with a precipitous drop on the
west and a less steep fall to the north-east. The rock was heavily
quarried in early days and there were some disconnected fragments
of early walling close to the rock, but the later Roman constructions
were so extensive that we could not formulate any conclusions about
the pre-Roman history of the field.
The Roman buildings consist of a temple in the west half of the
area, a rectangular altar or basis with a complex building in three
sections N.E. of the temple, an earlier building north and west of
this, and a circular construction, perhaps also an altar, to the
south-east. A stylobate ran round the temenos and on the south
side of it five pulvinated dies of a late type, two of them still in position,
were discovered. Along the south side there was a road leading
to the west gate between the summit and the temenos on the line
of an existing camel track. A fragmentary inscription which was
found near the surface of the middle of the field suggested to us that
the precinct was dedicated to Kore (Persephone) whose rape is
represented on the 3rd century coins of Colonia Sebaste ; a second
inscription in honour of the same goddess was found in S. and a
third inscription which was found at Nablus-Neapolis some time
ago attests the popularity of her cult in this district 1 : it is natural
enough therefore that the second great temple in Samaria-Sebaste
should be sacred to her.
Of the temple nothing but the substructure remains. This is a
composite building, the part which may be identified with the
cella is a great rubble core rising to within a few centimetres of the
surface and measuring some 23 by 10.5 metres: this core was
surrounded by what we took to be the substructure of a peristyle
measuring 3 metres across, but not a scrap even of the paving of
either remains. Abutting against the east end of this- there is
another mass of masonry which measures 8 m. from east to west
1 See S. A. Cook, 8chweich Lectures for 1925, p. 188.
EXCAVATIONS AT SAMARIA, 1931.
23
and spans the whole width of the east walk of the peristyle. The
masonry of the latter structure is different from that of the eella-
peristyle and it is set out on a slightly different axis, but the difference
in axis is so small that there would have been no difficulty in combin-
ing the two parts, the east part being the foundation of a portico or a
flight of stairs to the other : here, too, not a stone of the super-
structure remains. The foundations of both parts are carried down
to the rock everywhere ; on the S. this was no great matter as
the rock was less than a metre below the top course remaining,
but on the W. where the building stood above an old quarry this
entailed 13 courses of masonry, each about 50 cm. high. These
courses were composed almost entirely of drafted stones, many of
them covered with plaster, and the filling under the stylobate behind
this facing was a mass of carved architectural detail. The architec-
tural fragments fall into two groups : the first included 16 crenellated
blocks cut in soft limestone and brightly painted in different
monochrome shades of red and yellow and green, and some cornice
mouldings with “ Egyptian ” cavetto and torus profiles of the same
soft stone. The second group consisted of blocks cut from a hard
grey limestone like that used for columns at Samaria : it included
five large Ionic caps originally finished off with stucco, several
bases, column drums, cornice blocks, and two curious reliefs. The
reliefs represented omphalos-like cones wreathed with olive leaves and
surmounted with six-pointed stars (see Plate vii, 10), and they remind
the writer of the upper half — the part above the brim — of the helmet
which is represented on some of the coins of Herod ; one asks
whether they may not have come from a building decorated with
stone representations of trophies like those which infuriated the
Jews in Jerusalem 1 ? The material for the substructure of our temple
# was collected probably from various sources : one of the buildings
despoiled may have been a propylsea leading to the Herodian
Augusteum : another seems to have been in the mixed style of the
“ Tomb of Absalom/' The building of our temple we assign to the
3rd century a.t>. because we found ribbed potsherds which cannot
be earlier than the preceding century in a sealed cistern under the
middle of the stereobate. Another cistern on the south side which
was not sealed by the temple building contained an extraordinarily
homogeneous collection of ribbed ware, including several whole pots,
1 Josephus, Antiq . xv, viii.
24
EXCAVATIONS AT SAMARIA, 1933.
which may be assigned to the 3rd or 4th century — the period pre-
sumably when the temple was most frequented.
The building which abutted on the east end of the main block
contained neither drafted stones nor carved fragments, and it was
built, therefore, probably when none were available. That this was
before rather than after the main block seems indicated by the
earlier potsherds which were found in an excavation at the point of
junction of the two, which may have been a natural cave or an
unfinished cistern.
In the walls N.E. of the temple the same differences of axis and
masonry were observed. On the same axis as the earlier, eastern,
portion of the main building and of the same type of masonry is a
long wall which runs from the centre of the field to the N. with a wall
striking it at right angles near the boundary. These walls are not
carried down to the rock, but offsets on them and a distinct line in
the undisturbed debris near suggest that the level of occupation
when they were built was about a metre below that of the later group.
The later group consists of an oblong altar or basis and adjoining it a
rectangular building divided into three parts, a room spanning the
whole width from N. to S., a small room in the N.E. corner and a
solid mass of masonry in the S.E. : all the walls in this complex,
which was on the same axis as the temple proper, were carried down
to rock and were full of carved architectural stones. The circular
altar (?) to the S.E., on the other hand contained no carved detail.
The nett results in this field may seem disappointing, but they
have added something to our picture of Roman Sebaste. If our
interpretation of the remains is correct, there was a temple here of
considerable size in the 1st century perhaps, dedicated probably
like its successor to K ore -Persephone. It was almost entirely rebuilt,
probably in the 3rd century, when perhaps a radical reconstruction
of the old temple on the summit placed a great deal of old material
at the disposal of the builders which enabled them to lay the
astounding foundations which are all that has survived to this day.
In the eastern provinces as in the west there were very great builders
in the 3rd and 4th centuries of our era.
Karnrn el-Sheikh .
Karam el-Sheikh is a broad hollow some 230 m. long, lying north
of the forum-threshing floor. It is about 100 m. below the level of
the highest point on the summit, but it was within the Roman city.
EXCAVATIONS AT S AMABTA, 1931,
and the line of the town wall is the north boundary of the field ; on
the other three sides it is surrounded by rather steep slopes. A
number of columns are still showing above ground in the hollow, and
from their disposition they have, been supposed to form part of a
hippodrome with seats on the sloping hill-sides. The results of our
investigations do not support this hypothesis.
The north end of the field which we leased is about a third of the
whole, and during the last season the north colonnade and part of the
west colonnade were cleared, various trenches and two deep shafts
were dug in the centre and against the city wall at the north end,
and some excavations made on the west slope.
The north colonnade was 57.2 m. long, that is, about 200 Roman
feet, and it contained originally 20 columns of which eight are
still standing. The columns stood on a stylobate most of which has
now disappeared, and there was an enclosure, wall 5.3 m, from the
stylobate all round the structure : this wall also has disappeared
almost completely. Alongside the wall there was a well-constructed
gutter to carry off the water which poured down from the higher
ground above. At the R.E. corner a small annex, 8.4m. by 4,
abutted on the outer wall : this annex was built of re-used material
and reminded us of the late building N.E. of the temple in T. : like
the east half of that building, it consisted of a room on the north and
a solid platform of masonry on the south. We could not determine
certainly whether the area between the colonnade and the outer wall
was paved : if it was paved, the paving stones were removed very
early, for no trace of them was found under some mosaics of the 5th
or 6th century which were laid at the east end of the colonnade : the
enclosure wall had also been demolished here before this time.
In the central arena, which was trenched in various places,
several disconnected fragments of paving were found about a metre
below the present surface, also a long drainage gutter, and a large
altar erected to the Lady Kore by a high-priest named Kalpournmmo $
Gaianou . The inscription on the altar was ill-cut and ill-spelt, and
can hardly be earlier than the 3rd century a.d. The altar and the
pavement were approximately on the same level as the surrounding
colonnades, and belong to the period when they were in regular use.
Several coins of the 3rd and 4th centuries are the only closely dated
objects found here.
26 EXCAVATIONS AT SAMARIA, 1931.
Excavations on the west hill-side, which brought to light a
number of Israelite tombs and a Roman columbarium , showed that
there never were any seats here such as was once imagined, and the
absence of these seats, the enclosure walls round the colonnade,
and the traces of paving in the central arena, all suggest that thi s
field was not a hippodrome, but a palaestra.
This suggestion was strengthened by discoveries which were
made in the deeper excavations. In the debris under the arena, at
a depth between one and five metres, we found a quantity of Roman
pottery and many fragments of painted plaster, mostly plain yellow
or marbled. Light was thrown on the latter by a find made under
the west colonnade about 50 m. south of the N.W. corner near the
southern limit of our area. Here we found exactly under the line
of the outer wall of the colonnade the west wall of a long plastered
room, the plaster being still preserved about 1.6 m. high. (Plate v,
9.) This wall was cleared for a length of 13 m., and continues to the
south beyond our boundary ; a cross wall at the north end was
mostly broken, but seems to mark the north end of this room, and
the foundations of it continued a little further into the arena than
the foundations of the colonnade. The plaster was painted in a
series of large panels with a marbled dado below them. Red and
yellow were the predominating colours and the plaster was exactly
like the fragments we had found earlier in the arena. A number
of rude graffiti were scored on the wall, pictures of athletes, gladiators
and animals, and inscriptions in different hands containing the
names Roufos, Preimos, Glaphyros and Narkissos, and there was one
rough inscription in paint to a certain Pomponios Roufos Meroktistes.
The drawings and the inscriptions seem to confirm, the conjecture
that the field was the site of an ancient palaestra, and the style of
the painting and the names suggest that it may be as early as the
Augustan period ; it may, in fact, be a palaestra built for the motley
veterans whom Herod settled in Samaria.
We did not determine what the level of the central arena was
at the time when the plastered room was in use, but the whole of
the central hollow was much lower at one time than we first imagined.
In the middle and also at the north end against the wall our shafts
were sunk 8 metres deep without reaching rock, and down to the
bottom of these pits we continued to find pottery, both Israelite and
Hellenistic. In the natural coarse of events quantities of earth and
EXCAVATIONS AT SAMARIA, 1931.
27
debris would be washed down the steep hill-sides S., E. and W. unless
steps were taken to prevent it, and ■when the city wall was built
across the open end to the north the rate of accumulation would
tend to increase : the carefully built gutters round the later enclosure
wall and in the centre may have been the result of bitter experience,
specially designed to prevent the silting which had ruined the earlier
arena on the level of the plastered room.
In the coming season we hope to dig further trenches in the
southern area in order to find out at least the limits of the plastered
room and the plan of the south end of the colonnade which is at
present unknown.
Hdkvrat el-Baidar and Qaid'in el-Deir .
In both B. and D. later occupations have destroyed most of the
remains of the Roman period and what is left is of minor interest.
In B. a single course of a house or public building, which ran
parallel to the west wall of the basilica, was found crossing the line
of the Israelite city wall ; it was admirably built and the foundations
were the most solid we discovered anywhere, they may well go
back to the time of the procurator Annius Rufus, whose name occurs
on the basilica ; his period of office extended from the last years
of Augustus to the first of Tiberius. Several of the cisterns here
were either Roman or Hellenistic, as they broke through the Israelite
line and underlay the later street.
In D. walls belonging to more than one scheme of defence
were found on and in front of the old rock-cut spurs. Many Israelite
.stones were incorporated in these walls, and the potsherds in the
mortar indicated that the walls date from various periods between
the beginning of the 1st and the end of the 3rd century a.d.
Numerous fragments of painted plaster were also found here,
especially in the upper strata ; they overlay much later deposits,
and had evidently been washed down from buildings on the summit.
The paintings fall into two classes ; in one the plaster was moulded
and the principal bands of decoration were divided from the central
panels by bevelled edges ; the bands were usually monochrome,
dark green and red being the commonest colours, and the borders
round the panels were filled with small patterns, such as spirals
and chequers. The other fragments belong to what has been called
the flower class (see Rostovtzeff, in J.H.S . , 1919, p. 144: f.) ; in
28
EXCAVATION'S AT SAMARIA, 1931 .
some the whole surface was covered with a jazzy network of leaves,
and flowers, in others the leaves were more scattered, and there
were figures among them, a dancing Silenus, for example.
The ruins of this period which we have uncovered at Samaria-
Sebaste are the ruins of a Eomanised pagan city. There is no
trace of anything Samaritan about it, and the Samaritans at that
time, as at present, were congregated chiefly, we imagine, near the
holy mountain of Garizim, at Neapolis-Nablus. The Greek element
in the population also may have been very weak, and this may be
a reason for the comparative paucity of inscriptions. The few
proper names we have found, such as Calpurnianus, Gaianus,
Primus, Rufus, Pomponius, GlaphyruS, Narcissus, are the names of
Romans or Latinized natives rather than Greeks. Moreover, al-
though a theatre is doubtfully marked on the old maps, it seems to
us quite uncertain that there ever was one in the place indicated.
But there were three pagan temples — if, as we suppose, the basilica
was a temple — a forum and a palaestra, wdiich was no doubt useful
for shows of various kinds ; there was also a great columned street-,
perhaps more than one, and the houses were decorated in the usual
fashions of the times. The extraordinary solidity of the buildings
and the smaller finds show further that it remained a very wealthy
city down at least to the 4th century of our era. We know that it
issued coins from the time of Domitian to the 3rd century, and a
few of these have turned up in the course of our work, but we
have found nothing to throw new light on the local government
at this time.
V. — The Later Periods.
Qafain el-Deir (/).)
The Church of the First Invention of the Head of St. John the Baptist*
The shrine of St. John the Baptist in the middle of Sebaste is
mentioned by a great many pilgrims from the fourth century down-
wards. A second shrine which was in the upper city and was also
connected with St. John is mentioned less frequently. Three
pilgrims, however, Joannes Phocas, who visited the Holy Land in
1185, Burchard of Mt. Sion, who wrote about 1280, and John
Poloner, whose date is about 1421, have described the upper shrine
in sufficient detail to enable us to identify it with the church which
we discovered in D. This shrine belonged to a Greek monastery
which was situated, according to Burchard and Poloner, on the
EXCAVATIONS AT SAMARIA, 1931.
29
brow of the hill where Herod’s palace once stood, and it marked
the site, according to Phocas, of the first Invention of St. John’s
Head.
Phocas 5 account runs as follows : — ce The church of the monastery
is domed ( rpovXKtoro 9 ). On the left side of the altar is a little
cell in the middle of which is a small circle (ojjupdkov) of marble
lying on (iirl) a very deep excavation in which the first Invention
of the Forerunner 5 s precious head adored by angels took place,
the head having been buried on this spot by Herodias.” Our church
stands on the brow of the hill, the nave was domed, there was a
small cliapel on the left side of the altar, and beneath it is a crypt
on the wall of which there is a painting of the Invention of the head
of St. John with angels adoring it ; on the jamb of the door which
leads down to the crypt there are pilgrims 5 crosses like those on the
passage leading to the Chapel of St. Helena in the Holy Sepulchre,
and we found graffiti made by Armenian and other pilgrims else-
where in the church. The identification is therefore quite certain.
We have before us the shell of the building which Phocas describes.
The interior of the church, which measures m 14.50 by m 12.90,
and the greater part of the west wall, which contains the principal
entrance, have now been completely cleared, and soundings have
been made at the east end and on the north side ; along the south
side and the south-west corner there are a great many recent graves
which we have foreborne to disturb.
At the west end there is an narthex with a single opening in it
which leads to the main door of the church. Except for this open-
ing the walls of the narthex so far as we have cleared them are now
solid, but at the time of Phocas 5 visit the narthex was probably
an open portico with four piers on the west side and pointed cross
vaults above them. On the floor there are still traces of a mosaic
pavement with an imbricated pattern, and a large niche was
excavated in the thickness of the wall north of the church door
Beneath the floor two burial vaults were found. (Plate vi, 11.)
Inside the church the principal features in the twelfth century were
the central dome, a large apse at the east end, and the chapel above
the crypt of the Invention at the north-east corner. (Plate vi, 12.)
The dome was carried on four piers in each of which a granite
column was embedded. The sanctuary was raised one step above the
30
EXCAVATIONS AT SAMABIA, 1931.
rest of tlie church and extended from the middle of the two eastern
piers to the apse ; a low chancel screen separated it from the nave
and there were columns on either side of the royal entrance ; the
altar was built against the chord of the apse and there was a semi-
circular step in front of it ; there was no trace of any seats round
the apse. The chancel screen was carried across the south aisle, but
the area behind it was on the same level as the main body of the
church and was therefore not part of the sanctuary ; a niche in the
south wall with a cross on it suggests that it was used as a sacristy.
At the east end of the north aisle stood the small chapel of which
Phocas speaks ; the floor of this chapel was raised two steps above
the aisle and the chapel was roofed independently with a small dome
on pendentives ; it stood immediately above the crypt of the Invention
to which a flight of eight steps led down from the north aisle. The
floor of the crypt is only a few centimetres above rock level and a
grave containing a single burial was found excavated in the rock
down the middle of the chamber. The crypt was roofed with a
flat pointed cross vault, and the west wall which contains a niche
was covered with painting. (Plate vii. 13.)
Miss Bentwich made a coloured study of this fresco and a photo-
graph of her study was shown to M. Millet by Mr. Chapman, who
writes to me as follows": — “The subject of the upper group is the
beheading of St. John the Baptist who is wearing a camel’s hair
garment ; the executioner is crowded almost too close to the victim, but
this is not uncommon. The lower group is the discovery of the head
of the saint (without his body). People are digging with spades ;
in the centre [was] the head in an aureole or glow of shining light ;
in the corners are saints looking down.” Others have suggested
that the figures in the corners, one of whom is a woman, may be
portraits of the donors of the painting. On each side of the niche
is the figure of an adoring angel. Some of ' the faces seem to have
been wilfully destroyed but the colours are well preserved and
brilliant.
To return to the upper part of the church, the internal walls were
all plastered, as were the dome and piers, and covered with paintings
of which very little remains ; at the north-west corner the subjects
were a series of saints with scrolls beside them. Seats or stalls were
apparently built round three sides of the nave between the piers.
There is no evidence to show the character of the roof above the
EXCAVATIONS AT SAMABIA, 1931.
31
aisles, but eight pointed arches were thrown from the four central
piers to the side walls and the roof above them was probably flat ;
in the middle there was the dome above the nave and above the apse
a semi-dome.
Such were the main features of the church which Phocas saw, and
in his day, 1185 a.d., many of these features must have been com-
paratively new. There are a few stones, in the entrance to the
narthex, for example, which are dressed with the diagonal tooling
characteristic of Crusaders' work ; the mouldings round the drum
of the dome, the pointed arches, and the vault above the chapel,
belong to the same circle. But these features are additions made to
what was in the main a much older building. The older building
was restored in all probability only a few years before the visit of
Phocas, about the time when the great Latin cathedral in the lower
town was in building, and it seems reasonable to conjecture that
the Orthodox Church which had been recently obliged to cede the
guardianship of the major relics of St. John the Baptist to the Latins,
now determined to make more of the lesser shrine which still remained
in their own hands. They may have engaged for this purpose some
of the very masons who had been employed on tbe Frankish cathedral*
Before the Crusades both churches were probably in a ruinous state,
the Latins seem to have rebuilt the greater shrine anew from the
foundations, the Greeks contented themselves with a restoration.
What was the earlier church like, and when was it built ?
The north, south and west walls of the church are extremely
massive, about m 1.80 thick, and they are built of large stones
in courses which average about cm 55 high ; the stones were taken
from earlier buildings. The walls at the east end of the aisles are
only about cm 90 thick, and the shallow niches which have been
excavated in them look like unfortunate after-thoughts. The outer
wall of the apse, which projects m 2.40 further east, is rectangular
in plan. The bottom course at the east end projects slightly, except
round the apse, and this offset was probably continued on the
north and south walls ; it is not found at the west end. Masonry
of this type is common in the Syrian churches of the fifth, sixth
and seventh centuries, and it is to this period that we are disposed
to attribute the original church. There is some reason to think
that in plan this church was a basilica, with a single apse at the
east end and colonnades between the nave and the aisles ; there are
32
EXCAVATIONS AT SAMARIA, 1931.
two stylobates now dividing nave and sanctuary from the aisles,
and in line with them on both shoulders of the apse there are jagged
edges which look like the remains of the two pilasters or engaged
columns in which the colonnades may have ended; when the column
inside the north-east pier was erected, the north stylobate was broken
through, and none of the bases of these columns are set on the
lines of the stylobates ; it is difficult therefore to account for the
stylobates, except on the hypothesis that they originally carried
colonnades of the usual type, and that the church was basilica.
There are small patches of mosaic with a fragment of an inscription
in the south aisle, and other patches at the west end and in the
north aisle, which might be assigned to the sixth century, and may
be part of the original floor ; the great west door, which could be
closed, like the citadel gate at Beisan, by a bar slid into a long hole
cut iu the thickness of the south wall, we are inclined to assign
also to the first* building, but the gate at Beisan, unfortunately,
cannot be closely dated. The archseological evidence does not
permit us to say more about the date of the building and the literary
tradition is not helpful ; the Second Invention of the Head of St.
John took place at Ernesa about 450 a.d., so the First Invention must
have taken place some decades earlier, but according to the story
the discovery was made clandestinely in circumstances which are
not likely to have been commemorated until the fame of the miracu-
lous Head was noised abroad, and its cult firmly established r from
this standpoint the fifth century seems to be the earliest possible
date.
Most of what we see now belongs either to this basilica or to
the restoration made in the twelfth century, but it is possible that
the basilica had been re-constructed already once before the latter
date, and that the granite columns embedded in the four central
piers are the relics of an intermediate phase. These columns rest
on marble bases, and one of the stylobates was broken to receive
them ; it is difficult to believe that they were erected by the builders
of the piers as an original part of their plan, and it may well be
argued that it is more likely that the builders found them already
in position, and decided to utilise them in a manner to which there
are several parallels. If this argument be accepted, w r e shall con-
clude that the basilica was converted at some time or other into
a four-column church with, in all probability, a timber lantern.
Plate III.
Palestine Exploration Fund.
IRIDOB, SHOWING ISRAELITE WALL, FlG. 5. — HELLENISTIC FORT WALL UNDER CORRIDOR.
FR-O^M THE jSsORTH. FROM THE SOUTH.
Palestine Exploration Fund.
Plate IV.
Palestine Exploration Fund.
Plate VI.
EXCAVATIONS AT SAMARIA, 1931,
33
The changes made after the time of Phocas can only be described
as deformations of the church, at best they were clumsy botches to
avert some danger. The walls of the narthex were built up pre-
sumably because the roof had collapsed ; the west door was
reduced in size, and other openings were blocked up ; the old altar
was removed, and a rough substitute erected ; the screens at the
east end, and the seats which had existed round the other sides
of the nave, were taken away ; a rough wall was built across the
north aisle in line with the north-west pier, and in the south-west
comer a vault was built to provide two rooms, perhaps for a priest ;
the lower of these had been used as kitchen, the upper was
■approached from the south aisle by a rough flight of steps built
.against the south wall. Some of these changes may have been made
to repair damage caused by an earthquake, but others suggest
wilful destruction ; they were probably made at different times,
but there is nothing to indicate precisely when. Professor Blake
regards some Armenian graffiti found on the walls as late, not
earlier than the fifteenth century, when, as we have already seen,
John Poloner visited the place ; in all probability the church was
not abandoned until a century or so after this date. It has been
used as a cemetery by the Christian community for a long time,
twenty-five bodies or their fragments being found by us on the
south side only, but it was not recognisable as a church before we
•cleared it, and the debris in most parts was between three and four
metres deep, in spite of recent quarrying.
Karam el-TTiteh (T), Karam el-Shcikh ($), Baku rat el-Baidar ( B ).
As stated in my previous report, there is reason to believe that
Sebaste dwindled after the Roman period. In Q. we found no trace
of building later than the fourth century, and the remains found
•elsewhere were fragmentary.
In T. part of the mosaic floor was found on the north side of the
field, some cm 80 above the level of the door sill in the complex east
of the temple ; the end of a tabula- aumta and half-a-dozen letters
only remain.
In S., at the east end of the north colonnade, there were mosaic
floors in two rooms which communicated with each other. Both
fioors had fragmentary inscriptions, one mentioning a man named
Eutropius, the other a woman, Ulpane ; the patterns were mostly
C
34
EXCAVATIONS AT SAM ART A, 1931 .
of the geometrical type popular in the fifth and sixth centuries, the
Ulpane mosaic contained a large rose, with the words ET TTXI on
the petals. There was no evidence of any burial in the chambers,
but the inscriptions suggest that the room were memorial chapels,
and the discovery shows that the colonnade was no longer used for
its original purpose.
In B. the later remains, both Christian and Arab, were more
considerable, and this was evidently the part of the site which was
most heavily occupied at this time. The late street which led in the
direction of the monastery in D. was described at sufficient length
in my previous note ; the houses on each side were destroyed
almost to ground level, and it is impossible to reconstruct the plans of
any single dwelling, but a few finds of interest were made, including
remains of an olive-mill, an olive-press, a glass factory, and some late
pottery.
35
BRITISH SCHOOL OF ARCHAEOLOGY IN JERUSALEM.
The Annual General Meeting of the School was held on Friday,
October 2nd, 1931, in the rooms of the Society of Antiquaries,
Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W.l. Sir John Chancellor,
G.B.E., K.C.M.G., late High Commissioner for Palestine presided
over the open meeting, and Sir Frederick G. Kenyon, F.B.A.,
over the business meeting for subscribers only.
Business Meeting . — The Minutes of the Annual General Meeting
held on 21st November, 1930, were confirmed and signed by the
Chairman.
Prof. Myres read the Report of the- Council for the Season
1930-31, which was unanimously adopted on the motion of the
Chairman, seconded by Dr. Masterman.
Statement of Accounts . — In the absence of the Honorary
Treasurer, Prof. Myres presented the draft Accounts for the year
ending Sept. 30th, 1931. Although the new year opened with £130
less balance in hand than last year, certain monies had still to come
in. The School was beginning to profit from the very substantial
economies which resulted from surrendering the premises which
the School had occupied in the Government Museum at Jerusalem
and devoting to research work the money hitherto spent on rent
and upkeep.
On the motion of the Chairman, seconded by Sir Charles Close,
the Accounts were then adopted subject to audit, for which there
had not been time between the close of the financial year on Sept.
30th and the Annual Meeting on October 2.
Election of Officers . — Sir Thomas Haycraft proposed and Mr.
Hyamson seconded the re-election of Professor J. L. Myres as
Chairman, Mr. Robert Mond as Honorary Treasurer, and Mr. C. E.
Mott as Honorary Secretary. The proposition was unanimously
carried.
Election of Council — The Chairman explained that four members
of the Council retired by rotation and proposed on behalf of the
Council that Sir Arthur Evans and Dr. Stanley Cook be re-elected
members of the Council, and that Mr. J. W. Crowfoot and Mr. G. M.
FitzGerald be elected as new members.
36 BRITISH SCHOOL OF ARCHAEOLOGY IN JERUSALEM.
Sir Thomas Haycraft seconded and the proposition was carried
unanimously.
Election of Auditors . — On the motion of Mr. Hyamson, seconded
by Mr. H. D. Acland, Dr. W. G. Masterman and Mr. J. E. Quibell
were unanimously re-elected Auditors.
This concluded the Business Meeting.
OPEN MEETING.
The Chair at the Open Meeting of Subscribers and friends of the
School was taken by Sir John Chancellor, G.B.E., who said : —
Ladies and Gentlemen,— I appreciate highly the great honour
you have conferred upon me in inviting me to preside over the
Annual Meeting of the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem.
I have, during the three years I have been in Palestine, seen a good
deal of the activities of Mr. Crowfoot and his colleagues at Mt.
Ophel, Jerash, Sebastieh, and elsewhere. I am filled with admira-
tion of the work that they have done with the very limited resources
at their disposal, and it has been a constant regret to me that they
have not had greater power to extend the work they are doing so
admirably.
As you know, Great Britain is responsible under the Mandate
for the custody of ancient monuments and archaeological remains in
Palestine and for ensuring that facilities for archaeological explora-
tion are open to all nations wishing to undertake excavations
exploration and research work in Palestine. Owing to the care and
tact of Mr. Richmond, our Director of Antiquities, assisted by a
Committee composed of members nominated by the nations
interested in the archaeology of the Holy Land, the work of the
various nations and bodies has been carried on without friction.
Every nation, I think, is satisfied with the way in which the
archaeological work is done. In fact, I think I may truthfully say
that the archseological sphere of its activities is the only one in
which the Government of Palestine has been fortunate enough to
escape violent hostile criticism and condemnation. But do not let
it be inferred from that remark that I am for a moment suggesting
that Palestine would be more happily governed under a
condominium of the Powers.
I do not claim to have any knowledge of archaeology, for during
my life I have, for the most part, been a governor of what may be
BRITISH SCHOOL OF ARCHEOLOGY IN JERUSALEM. 37
described as new countries. Until I went to Palestine three years
ago I had not come into contact with archaeologists and their work.
But he would be a dull and unimaginative person who would not be
inspired by the absorbing interest of that fascinating science, the
collection of the raw materials of the history of man. No country
in the worid is so rich in archaeological remains as Palestine. jit
is hardly possible to turn over a clod in the fields without
turning up something that reveals the activities of man in the country
— it may be a small piece of mosaic or a fragment of cut stone ;
almost everywhere you find something that shows that man has been
long in the country. Only about a month ago I was opening a
new pumping station at a remote spring in the Wadi Kelt, which I
believe is the Brook Kerith. The waters of the spring were being
diverted to supplement the always inadequate supply of Jerusalem,
which is abnormally short of water this season owing to last winter’s
drought. In the course of the excavations connected with the
pumping station an ancient building with mosaic floors and Byzan-
tine crosses in the walls was discovered, about which Mr. Crowfoot
may tell you something later on 1 . It seems extraordinary that in
the remote region of the Wadi Kelt, half-way between Jericho
and Jerusalem, an ancient building should be discovered ; but that
is typical of what is found everywhere in Palestine.
There was some opposition to the diversion of the waters of the
spring to Jerusalem by people interested in the lower part of the
Wadi Kelt ; and attempts were made to intimidate the labourers
engaged on the work. It was reported that the jinns of the spring
were displeased with the work being carried on in connection with
their spring and that they resented the attempt to interfere with
their property. During the night stones fell upon the workers’
camp from the neighbouring hills, and it was stated that the stones
were- thrown by the jinns of the spring to mark their displeasure.
To show you how thoroughly the jinns entered into the spirit of their
enterprise I may tell you that they took the trouble to soak the
stones in water before they threw them into the workers’ camp in
order to give an air of verisimilitude to the report, which had been
circulated to the effect that the stones were thrown by the jinns
of the spring.
1 See Mr. Crowfoot’s expanded report in this issue, pp. 8-34.
38 BRITISH SCHOOL OB ARCHiEOLO GY IK JERUSALEM.
As a further example of the ubiquity of archaeological remains
in Palestine and Transjordan, I may mention another matter that
came to my notice about a month ago, when I met one of the
surveyors who has been engaged in surveying the Haifa-Baghdad
Eailway route across the desert. He told me that he had been
surveying in eastern Transjordan and there he had to cross a tract
of desert the surface of which was covered with blocks of basalt,
varying in size from the circumference of one’s fist to a fairly large
boulder. So close are these blocks that it is impossible to pass
over that tract with a vehicle of any sort. In turning over those
blocks the surveyor had found that many of them bore inscriptions
in a character that was unknown to him. He has had some of the
blocks sent to England and they will, in due course, be deciphered,
and I hope prove to be of interest. These instances are sufficient
to show that in Palestine there is still a mine of archaeological wealth
to be developed.
As you probably know, the exact sites of many of the Christian
holy places are subjects of controversy ; but to those who go to
Palestine in a spirit of reverence these controversies appear to be of
little moment, because one realizes that, wherever may be the exact
spots where historic events in the life of our Lord took place, in
Palestine, beyond any shadow of doubt, one sees the roads and paths
He trod, the places He saw, and the countryside in which He dwelt,
hardly changed after 1900 years.
But what is very striking in Palestine is the extraordinary
accuracy of the topographical descriptions of the Old Testament,
which I have been told is to-day one of the best guide-books to
Palestine.
About two years ago, I visited the city of Mizpah, where excava-
tions were being carried out by Professor Bade, of California. In
the course of our tour round his works he pulled his Bible out of his
pocket and read to me (I do not know from what part of the book)
the description of that city, built by Asa, King of Judah. He read :
<£ In the midst of the city I builded me a Tower. 55 “ Here, 55 said
Professor Bade, <f is the tower. 55 And close by thereto I builded
a wine-press. 55 fe And, here, 55 said the professor, “is the wine-
press. 55 And there they were. There were the foundations of the
tower quite distinct and the wine-press partly cut out of the rock
and practically intact. It greatly adds to the fascination of investi-
BRITISH SCHOOL OF ARCHH3JLOU Y IN JERUSALEM.
39
gation and study in Palestine to come across such accurate descrip-
tions written three or four thousand years ago.
Archaeologists in Palestine, I know, are inciined to favour research
into ancient biblical history and the earliest origins of man, and are
apt to pass over the Greek and Roman period ; but I should like to
put in a plea for those periods and to express the hope that it may
some day soon be possible to excavate Ascalon, which I visited some
time ago and where your School did valuable work nine or ten years
ago. The rich finds which rewarded you there after comparatively
little work make one long to see a thorough excavation of that site.
I hope if better times come for the world and for the British School
of Arehooology in Jerusalem that it will be possible either for the
School or for the Government of Palestine to induce some rich
archeological enthusiast to undertake a thorough investigation of
Ascalon. It would be an interesting and fascinating study.
You will, I know, lie glad to hear from me that the Archaeological
Museum at Jerusalem, which we owe to the generosity of Mr. J. D.
Rockefeller, jun., is making very good progress. The contract
was signed about six months ago ; the foundations are nowcomplete,
and have been specially reinforced to prevent injury to the building
by earthquakes. When 1 was in Jerusalem about five weeks ago I
visited the building and was glad to see the walls already three or
four feet above ground. The building is really a remarkable one as
a Museum, and I am sure it will give great pleasure to all arche-
ologists who see it. The design was sent to an expert on Museums
in America and I am informed that he paid it the compliment of
saying that it was without the faults that were present- in the design
of every other museum he had seen. That is a good augury for the
future of our Museum.
Before closing I should like to refer to a matter mentioned at
the meeting of the Council at which I was an unintentional interloper.
It was interesting to me to learn from Professor Myres what had been
done in one of the most important parts of your activities, namely,
in the training of archaeologists. The Government of Palestine
has drawn very freely upon, you for the men you have trained. Mr.
Hamilton is now acting as Director of Antiquities in Palestine with
remarkable success. I had several conversations with him during
his incumbency, and I consider we are extraordinarily lucky in
40 BRITISH SCHOOL OF ARCHAEOLOGY IN JERUSALEM.
having secured his services. I may say the same with regard to Mr.
Johns, another of those trained by the British School of Archaeology.
In conclusion, I should like to record once more my admiration
for the work done by the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem,
and to appeal to all those who are interested in British scholarship,
and in the Christian religion to give such assistance as they can to
promote the admirable work that is being done.
The Work of the School in the Season 1930-1931. — The Director
of the School, Mr. J. W. Crowfoot, C.B.E., M.A., F.S.A., then
described the session’s work of the Joint Expedition at Samaria ;
Miss D. A. E. Garrod, Fellow of Newnham College, Cambridge,
described the excavation of Caves near Athlit ; and Mr. Turville-
Petre his work in the Cave Zikhron Yakob in the same neighbour**
hood. 1
Vote of Thanks . — Sir Charles Close proposed a hearty vote of
thanks to Sir John Chancellor for presiding and delivering a very
much appreciated address. All who had listened to it had enjoyed
it and would, undoubtedly, take to heart the advice given. Thanks
were also due to the Director, Mr. Crowfoot, for his lecture ; also to
Miss Garrod and Mr. Turville-Petre. Altogether, there had been a
most excellent series of accounts of the activities of the School, and
all present were grateful to the three speakers. Finally, thanks
would, the speaker felt sure, be heartily accorded to the Society of
Antiquaries for generously allowing the meeting the use of their
rooms.
The vote of thanks having been most heartily accorded, the
proceedings terminated.
REPORT OF THE COUNCIL FOR SEASON 1930-31.
The Council has to report a year of unusual activity, with ten
students in the field, and no less than five excavations, in addition
to the great enterprise undertaken at Samaria in conjunction with
Harvard University, the British Academy, the Palestine Exploration
Fund, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
1 These communications will be printed in the next issue of the Q.S.
BRITISH SCHOOL OF ARCHAEOLOGY IN JERUSALEM. 41
General— When we surrendered our quarters above the Govern-
ment Museum last year, we retained by the courtesy of the Depart-
ment an attic and a garage to house our excavation kit, etc., when
it was not in use in the field. The growing needs of the Museum
have compelled the authorities reluctantly to ask us to evacuate
these rooms in the course of the past season. Our old friends, the
Dominicans, have most nobly come to our help : a vacant room
in their School building, which meets our every requirement, has
been placed by them at our disposal. It has laid us under another
debt to the Very Eeverend the Prior and the Fathers of the House,
and we beg them to accept this expression of our deep gratitude
for their courteous assistance.
The Director remained in England until the end of last year
in order to see through the press a preliminary report on Churches
at Jerash , which was issued to subscribers as Supplementary Paper
No. 3. He took the opportunity also of giving lectures on the work
of the School in London, Manchester and Sheffield. He returned
to Palestine at the beginning of January, and was busy during
the next three months in making preparations for the Samaria
expedition. By the end of March some modest quarters had
been erected on the site, and five areas leased for the work of
the first season. Actual excavation was started on the 1st April,
and the last of the party did not leave Samaria until the 10th
July.
Excavation of Samaria . — In the course of the season’s work
a magnificent section of the Israelite city wall of the time of Omri
and Ahah was uncovered at the south-east corner of the old acropolis,
and a still longer section of the south wall of the palace enclosure of
these kings was found further to the west. On the north side of the
summit a continuation of the great fort wall, traced further west
by the earlier Harvard expedition, proved to be of the Hellenistic
period. The site of a temple to Kore (Persephone) was identified
on a lower terrace to the north-west, and part of the so-called
Hippodrome, which is probably a palaestra , was cleared. An
unexpected discovery was that of a church on the south side of the
acropolis : the walls were standing over twelve feet high, and in
a crypt at the north-east comer some interesting frescoes which
appear to represent the martyrdom of S. John the Baptist and the
42 BRITISH SCHOOL OF ARCHAEOLOGY IN JERUSALEM.
Invention of liis head were found. The church is, no doubt, that
of a Greek monastery which is mentioned by the early Dominican
pilgrim, Burchard of Mount Sion, and others : it appears to have
been originally built in the fifth century perhaps, reconstructed
a century or two later, and again in the time of the Latin kingdom.
Five other excavations were undertaken under the auspices of
the School.
Caves near Athlit. — Miss Garrod continued the very fruitful
excavation begun in 1929 in the caves near Athlit. She was assisted
by Mr. Theodore McCown again, and by Dr. Van Heerden and Miss
Heseltine. The principal finds of the season were the skull of a
Neanderthaloid child in a side cave and a marvellous series of
skeletons of the Mesolithic period in front of the main cave : bead
headdresses were found still in position on some of the skulls.
Cave near Zikhron Yahob . — Miss Garrod’s finds were supple-
mented in a wonderful way by finds made by Mr. Turville-Petre
and Mrs. Baynes in a cave further south near Zikhron Yakob, which
included a superb series of carved bones, stone mortars and other
objects of the Mesolithic period. When it is remembered that
only one carved bone of this period has been found previously in
Palestine or, we believe, anywhere outside Europe, the importance
of these finds will be appreciated. The cost of both these works was
again met by a generous gift from Mr. Bobert Mond, supplemented
by a grant from the American School of Prehistoric Studies.
Cave Mugharet el-Zuttiyeli. — This is the cave, partly excavated
in 1925, in which the much-discussed “ Galilee Skull ” was found.
After that excavation, the cave was fenced by the Department
of Antiquities as a national monument. But in 1930 it was thought
desirable to remove this fence, and necessary, therefore, to complete
the excavation of the cave deposit. This was accordingly done by
Mr, F. Turville-Petre, with the help of a grant from the British
Association. No further fragments of the “ Galilee Skull ” were
found, nor, indeed, human remains of any kind. The remainder
of the deposit was in general conformity with the portion already
excavated.
Dolmens in Northern Galilee. — Earlier in the season Mr. Turville-
Petre cleared a number of Dolmens in Northern Galilee, but found
that all of them had been rifled previously. This w r ork was defrayed
BRITISH SCHOOL OF ARCHAEOLOGY TN JERUSALEM.
43
by a generous contribution made by Mr. Robert Garrett, of Balti-
more. A report on the work was published in the Quarterly State-
ment for July.
Khan-el- Ahmar . — At the monastery of S. Euthvmius, Mr. Ohitty
continued for a few days the work on which he has been engaged
for the last three years.
Students . — Ten students were admitted, or re-admitted, to the
School : —
Mrs. C. A. Baynes (1925) worked with Mr. Turvill e-Pet re in
the spring at Zikhron Yakub.
Miss Muriel Bentwich (1931) was appointed to a Robert Mond
studentship, and joined the staff of the Samaria Expedition,
for which she made excellent coloured studies of the frescoes
and other objects found.
Lieut. -Commander A. G. Buchanan (1928) who was working
with the Egypt Exploration Society at Arment in the winter,
joined the staff at Samaria as surveyor.
Rev. D. J. Ohitty, B.A. (1927, New College, Oxford) returned
to work at the monastery of S. Euthymius in the autumn.
Mr. C. W. Dugmore (1931, Exeter College, Oxford) came out
to study Hebrew and Arabic. He stayed in Palestine from
September, 1930, until last June, and worked privately and in
connection with the Hebrew University on linguistic and literary
subjects, and made journeys in the country.
Miss D. A. E. Garrod, M.A., B.Sc. (1928, Fellow of Newnham
College, Cambridge), rejoined the School to continue the work
already mentioned.
Miss K. M. Kenyon, B.A. (1931, Somerville College, Oxford),
joined the staff at Samaria, and took part in the supervision
of the work at the Hippodrome and on the summit.
Mr. F. Turville-Petre (1925, Exeter College, Oxford)
rejoined for the excavations already mentioned.
Dr. P. VanHeerden ( 1931, M.D. Amsterdam), joined the School
to work at Athlit with Miss Garrod.
Rev. Ninian Wright, M.A. (1931, Aberdeen University), came
ont as Wilson Fellow in the month of May, and joined the staff
at Samaria, working especially on coins and inscribed Rhodian
jar-handles.
44 BRITISH SCHOOL OF ARCETJGOLOGY IN JERUSALEM.
Former Students. — We have to congratulate two of our former
students on having obtained appointments in the Department of
Antiquities under the Palestine Government. Mr. R. W. Hamilton
was appointed Chief Inspector, and Mr. M. B. Aviyonah an Assistant
in the Library Section which will be attached to the new Museum.
Three other former students are still doing archaeological work
in the country, Mr. Horsfield as Director of the Department of
Antiquities in Transjordan, Mr. FitzGerald as Field Director of
the expedition of the Museum of the University of Pennsylvania at
Beisan, and Mr. Johns as Field Archaeologist of the Palestine Govern-
ment in charge of the excavations at the castle of Athlit.
Distribution of Duplicate Antiquities to subscribing institutions
has again been made possible by the courtesy of the Department of
Antiquities.
P Liblications. — A first instalment of the results of the School's
Excavations at Jerash, undertaken in conjunction with Yale Univer-
sity, has] been published by the Director, [as Supplementary Paper
No. 3, under the title Churches of Jerash (London : price five shillings ;
to subscribers to the School or to the Palestine Exploration Fund,
half-a-erown). The work on the Churches has now been concluded,
but Yale University is continuing work at Jerash on the classical
buildings which lie round about the churches ; so it was thought best
to issue this preliminary report at once, on the part of the work in
which the School has been concerned. This Supplementary Paper
contains 48 pages of text, a folding plan of the principal group of
churches round the Fountain Court, and 13 plates including two
coloured reproductions of the pictorial mosaics in St. John Baptist's
Church, and S.S. Peter andPauPs, for which the School is indebted to
the courtesy of the Illustrated London News.
Other publications, contributed to the Quarterly Statement of
the Palestine Exploration Fund, which incorporates the Bulletin
of the British School of Archeology in Jerusalem, are as follows : —
October, 1930 : — Three recent excavations in Palestine.
By J. W. Crowfoot, C.B.E., M.A.
Two churches at Gaza, as described by
Choricius of Gaza. By R. W. Hamilton.
B.A.
BRITISH SCHOOL OF ARCHAEOLOGY IN JERUSALEM. 45
January, 1931, Report for the Season, 1929-1930.
April, 1931, : — Excavations at the Mugharet el-Wad,
1930. By Miss Dorothy- Garrod.
Hyssop. By Mrs. G. M. Crowfoot and
Miss L. Baklensperger.
July, 1931, : — Work of the Joint Expedition to Samaria-
Sebustiyah, April and May, 1931. By
J. W. Crowfoot, C.B.E., M.A,
Recent work round the Fountain Court at
Jerash. By J. W. Crowfoot, O.B.E.,
M.A.
Dolmen Necropolis near Kerazeh, Galilee :
Excavations of the British School of
Archaeology in Jerusalem, 1930. Bv F.
Turville-Petre, B.A.
Contributed to Man 1931, 159. Excavations at the Mugharet el-
Wad. By Miss Dorothy Garrod.
Death of Mr. C. E. Mott.
Since the above was printed we regret to have to report the death
of Mr. C. E. Mott, who had been re-elected Honorary Secretary of
the School. A correspondent writes : —
“ By the death of Mr. Charles Egerton Mott, the British School
of Archaeology in Jerusalem loses a devoted Honorary Secretary and
constant supporter. Mr. Mott was born on 3rd February, 1870, and
was educated at Uppingham School and Oriel College, Oxford, and
afterwards practised as a solicitor in the City of London. In 1915 he
obtained a commission in the Royal Army Service Corps, served at
Suvla Bay throughout, and subsequently in Egypt in operations on
the Western Desert ; was present at the first and second battle of
Gaza and with Allenby’s troops in the advance on Jerusalem ; and
remained in Palestine and Syria for some six months after the
Armistice. He had always taken a very great interest in archaeology*
and had carried out a considerable number of successful excavations
in North Cornwall. Daring the campaign in Palestine he made good
use of his opportunities for archaeological observations. His interest
in the work of the British School of Archaeology was a very genuine
one, and he was a regular attendant at the meetings of its Council.”
46
EXCAVATIONS IN THE WADY EL-MUGHARA, 1931.
By Miss Dorothy Garrob, M.A., B.Sc.
In' previous numbers of the Quarterly Statement I have already
described the work of two seasons at the Wady el-Mughara (Valley
of the Caves), which lies at the foot of the western slope of Mount
Carmel, 12 miles south of Haifa. This year, my third season at the
site, excavation at the Mugharet el-Wad was confined to the terrace,
and, at the same time, work was carried on in two neighbouring
caves, the Mugharet et-Tabon (Cave of the Oven), which lies close
to the Mugharet el-Wad at a higher level, and the Mugharet es-School
(Cave of the Kids), a little higher up the valley. As in former years,
work was made possible by the generosity of Mr. Robert Mond,
while we once more welcomed the collaboration of the American
School of Prehistoric Research. I was fortunate in having an excel-
lent team of helpers. Mr. Theodore MacCown, of the University
of California, was in sole charge of the Mugharet es-School, while
Dr. van Heerden and Miss Heseltine supervised the work on the
terrace of the Mugharet el* Wad, and thanks to this division of
labour we were able to accomplish more than usual in the season.
The terrace of the Mugharet el-Wad before excavation was a
more or less level platform, roughly [7 m. x 10 m., lying immediately
outside the mouth of the cave and facing N.W. From the edge of
the terrace the ground sloped fairly steeply down to the level of the
coastal plain. The sequence of deposits was as follows
A. Bronze Age to recent, with a maximum thickness of 2 m.,
thinning out to 50 cm. further down the slope ;
B. Mesolithic, average thickness 2.50 m. ; the greatest thick-
ness of this layer was at the point where excavation
ceased, on the slope of the terrace, corresponding to
the minimum thickness of A.
Layer A consisted of stony grey-brown earth, and showed
no trace of stratification, pottery of all ages being found at all
levels. Layer B was made "up of reddish brown earth, somewhat
less stony than A, and growing redder and more compact towards
the base. Traces of hearths were abundant all through the layer.
From the stratigraphical point of view, the chief work of the season
EXCAVATIONS IN THE WADY EL-MUGHABA, 193 L
47
lias been tlie sub-division of B into two levels corresponding to a
well-marked change in industry. In both levels the microlithic
lunate was the most typical and most abundant implement, but in
B 1 (the upper level) these were small, and in the great majority of
cases had the back trimmed vertically, in the dos mbattu manner,
while in B 2 they were larger, and the characteristic trimming
encroached on to both surfaces of the blade, giving the back a ridged
section. In B 1 micro-burins were abundant, in B 2 very rare ;
m B 1 sickle-blades were rare, in B 2 abundant. Bone implements
were rare in B 1 , and confined to a few fragments of points, whereas
in B 2 were found bone-pendants, fragments of harpoons and sickle-
blade hafts. It is interesting to note that only B 2 was present inside
the cave, and that it was from this level that we obtained the two
carvings which I described in 1929 and 1930. On the other hand,
I am convinced that the mesolithic industry which I found in colla-
boration with Mr. and Mrs. George Woodbury in the cave of Shukba
in 1928, corresponds to the B 1 level just described, and I am therefore
obliged to revise my original opinion that it represents an older
phase than the industry of the Mugharet el- Wad.
It is important to note that the rock-cut platform and basins
were covered by a compact undisturbed B 2 layer, 1 m. in thickness,
and therefore belong to the older phase.
This mesolithic industry has so many original features that all
prehistorians with whom I have discussed the matter agree on the
necessity of giving it a name of its own, and I have therefore decided
to call it Natufian, since the cave of Shukba, in which it was first
discovered, lies in the Wady en-Natuf. (I may say that this name
has already been adopted for working purposes by French pre-
historians in Palestine.) Layer B of Shukba, and B 1 of the Mugharet
el-Wad would thus belong to the Upper Natufian, and B 2 of the
Mugharet el-Wad to the Lower Natufian.
Our 1930 trench, roughly 14 X 7 m., lay immediately in front
of the mouth of the cave, and our work this season consisted in
extending this excavation on both sides and lower down the slope.
We found, as we had already suspected in 1930, that the levelled
platform containing the basins, lay at the edge of the relatively
gentle rock-slope which constituted the terrace of the cave ; beyond
this point the rock sloped down very sharply, to correspond with
the break in the slope of the surface soil before excavation. Banked
48 EXCAVATION S IN THE WADY EU-MUGHARA, 1931.
against this rock-cliff was a bed of compact red earth, 2.50m. in
thickness. This contained the Lower Natufian industry to a
depth of 1.50 m., below which it was sterile down to the rock.
An interesting series of discoveries enabled ns to reconstruct
with certainty the original slope of the ground at the time when the
rock-basins were made. Five metres from the edge of the platform
part of a rough pavement was uncovered at a depth of 1.50 m.
from the surface. This was made up of slabs of tabular limestone,
not shaped in any way by man, but carefully chosen and fitted
together. ’This kind of crazy pavement continued into the east
extension of the trench, although [here it was much less perfect.
A sufficient number of slabs was found, however, to enable ns to
trace it up the slope until it came to an end against a rough wall ,
made up of a single course of limestone blocks resting on bed-rock.
This wall curved outward from the levelled area of rock found in
1930, and thus formed a kind of enclosure for the basins. It was
clear that basins, wall and pavement formed a single scheme, though
its purpose still remains obscure.
Both the Upper and Lower Natufian layers contained a number
of burials. These generally lay on one side (right or left indi ff erently )
in the flexed position, but one skeleton, discovered in 1930, lay on
its face with the legs drawn up. In three cases at least, the body
must have been bound before rigor mortis set in, as the knees are
closely drawn up to the chin. No attempt had been made to orientate
the bodies in a particular direction ; they faced all points of the
compass. Seventeen well-defined burials of individuals were identi-
fied, but, in addition to these, we obtained a large number of
fragmentary ill-preserved remains, so closely huddled together that
it was impossible to separate individual bodies. Three of the
well-preserved burials are of special interest. They lay near together
in the lower end of the trench, half-way between the pavement
and the rock-basins, and slightly below the level of the former.
The first skeleton is that of a young child, buried at the edge of a
common grave containing five or six individuals. On tlje skull
is a kind of cap, composed of bone beads or pendants made from
toe bones of gazelle or goat. One-and-a-half metres to the N.E.
was an adult skeleton, much crushed and badly preserved , lying
on its face, with knees drawn up to the chin (Fig. 1). The back of
the head was covered with dentalia, evidently forming part of a cap.
iKN’KRAL VIEW OF MUHIIAUET Eii-JSrilUUL. TlIK < "ilOSS MAKES TIIK spoT WlfFiiF
THi: SKELETON of A NkANDEKTAL (\ftILI> WAS I’Ul’Nit.
EXCAVATIONS IN THE WADY EL-MUGHABA, 1931.
49
and when the skull was removed, two fan-shaped ornaments of
dentalia were found on the frontal bone. A band of eight rows of
dentalia surrounded one tibia. The lower jaw and thorax were
filled with bone pendants, evidently the remains of a necklace.
One metre to the N.E. again lay a second, well-preserved adult
skeleton. It rested on the left side with the knees drawn up to
the chin, and on the head was a circlet, perfectly in place, made
up of seven rows of dentalia. (Figs. 2, 3 and 4).
This represents the sum of our finds on the terrace of the Mugharet
el- Wad, but before considering the other two sites excavated I must
mention in passing that this season’s work bore out my findings
of previous years that no contemporary pottery is associated with
the Natufian. At the same time it should be noted that sherds
were fairly common in B\ though decreasing in number towards
the base of the level. The great majority of these sherds were,
however, Byzantine, and all except a very few historic. The small
remainder were almost certainly Bronze Age. In B 2 , which was
more compact than B 1 , there had been no penetration, and sherds
were absent.
The Mugharet et-Tabon lies in the same bay of cliff as the
Mugharet el- Wad, but at a higher level. It consists of an inner
and outer chamber, roughly equal in size (about T m. in diameter)
the inner chamber being a well which runs up to the top of the cliff
with an opening 4.50 m. in diameter. Before excavation this well
was filled to a line 1 .50 m. above the archway communicating with
the outer chamber, and could only be reached through two narrow
shafts opened by the slipping down of earth and stones into the
outer chamber, where the deposit at its highest point was 1.50 m.
below the archway. A sounding was made in the outer chamber
in 1929, and a certain number of Mousterian implements were found.
Work was then abandoned, owing to the overhang of the deposits
in the well or chimney. This year, excavation was begun in the
chimney, and the red earth which filled it was lowered by 4,50 m.,
so that communication between the two chambers is now easy.
Apart from a thin covering of humus, which contained very
sparse archaeological remains, the red earth of the chimney appears
to be a Pleistocene deposit from the very top. Mousterian imple-
ments occurred in the first few centimetres, and continued through-
out the depth excavated, without any admixture of later forms.
D
50 EXCAVATIONS IN THE WADY EL-MUCUIAHA, 193 L
This suggests that the hill-top was already completely denuded by
the end of the Middle Palaeolithic times. That the implements
are really in situ , and have not been washed in from the hill-top is
shown by their perfect condition, their remarkably even distribution
through the deposit, and by their association with a large number of
animal bones broken for food. Mousterian man evidently continued
to crawl into the chimney (possibly for safety) long after it had
become very difficult of access.
The implements found belong to a Mousterian identical with
that of Shukba and the Mugharet el-Wad. It is in the Levalloisian
tradition, with abundant triangular flakes. At the same time, as
at Shukba, well-made burins are not rare. A single, very rough
hand-axe was found. During the last days of the dig, at a depth of
4.50 m., I obtained eight human teeth from an upper jaw, but
unfortunately the skull had completely disappeared.
A sounding was made at the mouth of the outer cave, in the
bottom of the 1929 trench. This passed through a hearth with
abundant Mousterian implements at a depth of 80 cm., and reached
a second Mousterian hearth at 1 . 30 m. Work was then suspended,
at a total depth of 10.50 m. from the highest point of the deposit
in the chimney.
The great interest of the Tabon cave lies in the association of
an abundant fauna with the Mousterian, a thing so far unknown in
this region, and also in its promise of great depth, with the possi-
bility of 'obtaining a still older industry than that already found.
It was to the excavation of this site that I myself gave the greater
part of my time this year, and I hope next year to do the same.
The Mugharet es-Sehool, as I have said, was excavated by Mr.
Theodore McCown. The site is really a rock shelter with a small
cave opening in the back wall, facing N. across the valley. (.Fig. 5.)
It contained a single archaeological deposit, a tough reddish
earth, in places hardened to a breccia, with a maximum
thickness of 2.50 m., resting immediately on bed-rock. This
yielded a Mousterian industry identical with thatof the Tabon,
and a fair number of animal bones. On the 26th May excavation
in front of the cave had reached a depth of 1.75 cm., the material
being tough breccia, when Mr. McCown discovered a human lower
jaw, evidently belonging to a young child. A few minutes later
EXCAVATIONS IN THE WADY EL-MTOHAKA, 1931.
51
he exposed part of a frontal bone. This was removed in a cube of
breccia measuring 50 cm. in all directions and carried down to the
camp. In chipping at the block to reduce its weight Mr. McGowan
uncovered, on one face, the lower end of a humerus, on the other,
part of the pelvis and some ribs. The block has now been excavated
in the College of Surgeons, and the skeleton has proved to be
practically complete. Sir Arthur Keith states that it is that of a
child of two-and-a-half years, of definite Neandertal type.
A FORTHCOMING PREHISTORIC CONGRESS.
The British Organizing Committee desire to bring to the notice
of Archeologists the First International Congress of Prehistoric and
Protohistoric Sciences, which will be held in London from August
1st — 6th, 1932. The Congress will be divided into sections, the third
of which deals with the Neolithic, Bronze and Early Iron Ages in
Ancient World. Historical civilizations will only be dealt with in so
far as the material is auxiliary to prehistoric .studies or is treated
according to their methods. The British Organizing Committee
cordially invite the co-operation of archaeologists engaged in research
in Egypt and the Near East, more especially those interested in the
relations of the Near East with the Ancient Mediterranean World and
the area of the Caucasus and South Russia. Agenda and invitations
will gladly be sent on application to the Secretary of the British
Organizing Committee, Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House,
London, W.l.
52
THE FIVE CITIES OF THE PLAIN (Genesis XIV).
By Pere Mallon, Director of Excavations at Teleilat Ghassul. 1
It was only in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries that the
explorers, in particular Reland and de Saulcy, put forward anew the
idea of submersion. Then the geologists interfered and they finally
gave a scientific basis to the question. They have no difficulty in
proving that in prehistoric times the sea covered all the Jordan Valley
and that it retreated little by little to its present confines. There is
no longer, then, any question of making it appear to have filled the
valley in the time of Abraham.
Writers are now divided. Some, especially English and American
explorers, have returned to the tradition of (1) the North, and have
placed the Pentapolis in the same region as the ancients, not far
from the Dead Sea, between the Jordan and the Mountains of Moab .
The others have changed to (2) the South. (3) Some German com-
mentators have placed two towns to the North, Adama and Seboim,
and have left the other three in the South.
The Roman Catholics have adopted for the most part the opinion
that it was in the South, won over by two names, (a) Zoar, which
they continued to identify with Segor, and (6) Jebel Usdum, a salt
mountain to the South-West which has preserved the name of
Sodom. Now (a) Zoar as we have already said, is Itoman and can in
no way be assigned to the epoch of Abraham. 2 (6) As for the name
Jebel Usdum, it was never brought into the arguments by the
ancients and for a very good reason. In the first centuries, indeed,
the name Sodom (Sodomite, Sodomitide) was applied to the whole
district of Pentapolis, to the whole region of the sea and all the
mountains, which surround the asphalt lake. 3 It was only much
1 The following article, which is translated by Jean Rome Duncan, M.A.,
and contributed by the Rev. J. Garrow Duncan, B.D., is supplementary of the
two published by E. Rower, S. J., in Studia Biblica and based on the more recent
excavation of Teleilat Ghassul.
2 After the Exploration of the American School for Research, cf. Note 7.
5 irpocrayopevovacv avrov c (a\<x?) IZoSopevov? diro r&v
TrepLe^vrccv rrjv Xi/jbvrjv opobv a KcCXeirai "ZoSofidi (Galen, De
Simplicium Medicamentorum Facultatibus , IV. 19).
THE FIVE CITIES OF THE PLAIN.
53
later that the name was restricted to the salt mountain in the South
West. Just like the plant which one calls “ Jordan apples,” this
lonely and barren mountain remains as a symbol of ancient curses.
Some may have been more or less influenced too, by the opinion
of the German geologist Blankenhorn who, assuming a nucleus of
truth in what he plainly calls ‘‘the legend of the destruction of
Sodom and Gomorrah,” 4 has recently formed the hypothesis of a
geological catastrophe, which would have produced the formation
of new valleys, the appearance of the salt mountain and finally
the destruction of the accursed towns. We are apt, however, to
neglect an essential fact in this hypothesis. Blankenhorn pre-
supposes a sudden catastrophe ; while for the great geologists it is a
question not of a sudden cataclysm but of a slow movement of the
soil in prehistoric times. Here are his words : te The destruction of
Sodom and Gomorrah is an event of the alluvial or post-glacial
epoch.” 5
We can see a distinction here. The movements of the soil in
prehistoric times are the proper domain of geology and we must not
interfere there : but the destruction ot the towns in the time of
Abraham as recorded by the Bible is a historical fact which does not
concern geology. The personal opinion of Blankenhorn on the
destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is irreconcilable with the
Catholic faith and the Holy Scriptures.
Moreover, when we come to consider the location of each town,
we find that different authorities name different sites. (1) Some
would place one of them under the waters of the southern shore of
the sea, and the other four towns near the eastern shore. (2) Dal-
man, an expert in Palestinian topography, is careful to point out
that it is more reasonable to search, not in the middle of the valley
in the low and boggy parts, but to the East, on the height towards
the mountain, in a well-aired place. 6
4 44 Das Sagenhafte Ereignis dcs Untergangs von Sodom nnd Gomorrha.”
Handbuch der regionalen geologic . , V. 4, Syrian, Arabien , und Mesopotamian
(1914) p. 60.
5 44 Entstehung und Geschichte des Toten Meres,” in ZeiUrhrift des
Deutschen Palcestina-Vereins, XIX. (1896), p. 51. In a recent article ib. LIV.
(1931), p. 44, the author maintains his opinion, placing the destruction of
Sodom and Gomorrah 44 towards the end of the diluvium ” at the beginning
of the 44 alluvium ” or of the 44 Neolithic period,” a geological phase which
produced the last volcanic activity. The Diluvium refers to the deposit when
the sea coved the whole Jordan Valley.
6 Palastina-jahrbuch , IV. (1908), p. 86.
54
THE FIVE CITIES OF THE PLAIN.
Consequently he suggests the following sites for the five towns :
Ghor-el-Feifeh and El-Khneizireh for Zoar, the city nearest the
mountain, according to the Bible ; Seil-el-Qurahi for Sodom ; and
Ghor-el-Numera, Ghor-el-Meseitbeli and Ghor-el-Megraa for the
three others . 7
This is, of course, a mere possibility in the mind of the author,
since every indication makes it wrong.
Again, the American expedition of which we spoke above, led
by Dr. Albright, searching the whole region South-East and South
of the Dead Sea from Ghor el-Mezraa to Ghor el-Eeif eh, did not
find anywhere the ruins of ancient towns which could go back to
the time of Abraham. It was the special aim of this expedition to
find and to study the traces of the Pentapolis, chiefly of Zoar, which
up till then had been the pivot of the Southern theory. ' As an
eye-witness, the author of these lines can vouch for it that the
researches conducted by Dr. Albright, then Director of the American
School in Jerusalem, present all the guarantees of the most minute
and careful investigation . 8
This fact is of the greatest importance and alters the complexion
of the problem. For the Southern hypothesis there remains but
one escape, to place the five towns in the southern basin of the sea.
This would be a new position, in contradiction of those least partial
to the opinion of all the ancients, a position which would remain
of course, purely hypothetical, since it rests on no positive evidence.
It is improbable in itself, for the reason given above by Dalman,
that this position is irreconcilable with geology ; since for this it
would be necessary to suppose that the Southern basin was dry in
the time of Abraham, and formed a plain of sufficient elevation to
offer security to the towns people wished to build there. It would
be necessary also to suppose that a catastrophe happened after the
destruction of the Pentapolis by fire as narrated in the Bible, and
that this cataclysm caused the plain to sink and the waters of the
Northern basin to invade it.
7 Palastvm-jahrbuch, IV. Loc. cit. p. 85.
8 For this journey see Biblica V. (1924), pp, 438-450 ; by Kyle and Albright,
Bibliotheca Sacra , LXXXI, (1924), p. 276-291. See also Annual of the
American School , VI 57-58. In consequence Dr. Albright has placed three
towns in the Southern basin and the other two in the Northern basin.
THE FIVE CITIES OF THE FLA IN.
55
This explanation is therefore inadmissible. There can be no
question here of invokingthe catastrophe which Blankenhorn places
in prehistoric times, and any volcanic activity in the time of
Abraham, followed by the sinking of the plain is unknown to the
geologists.
The careful study of. the Eastern shore of the Southern Basin
shows that this basin dates much earlier than Abraham. This
examination was made in the Spring of 1931 by P. Koeppel and it is
his conclusion that we write here : —
“ This section of the coast does not present in any part the indications of a
geological falling which could be attributed to prehistoric times, nor of a sliding
or sinking of soil. It possesses no terraces and deltas like those of the Northern
basin, and bears witness to a slow formation, which excludes the intervention
of any cataclysm. On the other hand, the basin could not have been formed
by the action of the water during the 2,000 years which separate Abraham from
the Christian era. Although less deep than that of the Northern, the basin of
the Southern dates from prehistoric times.’ 5
This conclusion of Koeppel’s has been adopted by M. Picard,
geologist of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and by the German
geologist Blankenhorn. The latter has since written in a private
letter, which he has kindly authorised me to publish : “I com-
pletely agree with you that this part of the lake, with the terraces
and deltas of the Eastern shore, goes back more than 4,000 years.” 9
This does not imply an absolute fixity of the shore, and one
can admit for historic times a certain amount of advance, or on the
contrary retreat, of the water, chiefly from the coast of Sebkha to the
South point ; but nobody will dream of placing on this narrow sandy
shore the five towns of which the Bible tells us in the story of Lot
and Abraham.
We think, therefore, that the time has come to review our posi-
tion. Recent discoveries have altered the problem. The hypothesis
of the South no longer seems to us tenable, (a) It is not clearly
indicated by any Biblical Text ; (b) it has lost its chief prop— the
identification of Zoar with Segor ; (c) it is opposed to archaeology
9 This agrees perfectly with the hypothesis of the great geologist referred
to above, since the catastrophe which he has in view belongs to prehistoric
times. A periodic change in the level of the water, varying from one to two
metres has been proved overthe < id ire compass of tliesea. To the North, and
to the South of the Peninsula of I.i.-an, a st'in iviti bearing trees is annually
submerged.
56
THE FIVE CITIES OE THE PLAIN.
which does not recognise the ruins of ancient towns in this region,
and ( d ) to geology, which teaches us that the Southern basin as it
stands already existed in the time of Abraham.
On the other hand, we cannot see what objection one could raise
to placing them in the North, and in this <c Plain of Jordan
(Genesis XIII. 10), which the Bible clearly indicates, and in which
archaeology shows us several ruins of the time of Abraham complying
with the conditions required for the Pentapolis. 1
[Owing to lack of space we are reluctantly compelled to hold
over an article which the Rev. Garrow Duncan has contributed on
Father Mallon’s excavations, together with a notice of some remark-
able inscribed objects, the true character and significance of which
are now occupying various archaeologists. — Ed.]
CONTENTS.
PA UK
Notes and News 57
The Expedition to Samaiua-Sebustiya : The Forum
Threshing Floor Area. By J. W. Crowfoot,
C.B.E., M.A., F.S.A 63
Perk Mallon\s Excavations of Teleilat Ghassul.
By the Rev. J. Garrow Duncan, B.D. 71
The Ci Great Burnings ” of Meiron. By H. C. Luke,
0. M.G., B.Litt 78
Gleanings from the Judako-Greek Cemetery, Jaffa.
By E. L. Sukenik ... 83
A Nazareth Inscription on the Violation of Tombs.
By S. A. Cook, Litt.D. ... 85
“ The Foundations of Bible History/’ By S. A. Cook,
Litt.D 88
Reviews and Notices 97
Notes and Queries : —
1. The Moabite Stone. By N. 8. Doniach ... 102
2. The Deity Yaz. By Theodore H. Gaster ... 103
3. The Legend M-z-h. By T. H. Gaster 104
4. Tid’al (Gen. xiv, 1), Etc. By A. Reubeni ... 104
5. The Funerary Tablet of Uzziah. By E. L.
Sukenik ... 106
Table of Transliteration 108
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Samaria-Sebustiya :
1, 2. Plans op the Forum Area after 70
3. Israelite Wall „ 70
4. South-west Corner of Forum, prom the
East „ 70
5. South-west Corner op Forum, prom the
North „ 70
0. Foundations of South Colonnade 70
Teleilat Ghassul, Inscribed Stones „ 70
Jaffa :
3. The Titulus of Theodoros „ 82
2. The Memorial to Meniamin and Sara ... „ 82
Quarterly Statement, April, 1932.]
THE
PALESTINE EXPLORATION FEND.
NOTES AND NEWS.
The Committee regret to announce the death of the Eight
Bev. Bennie Maclnnes, D.D., Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem,
which occurred suddenly on December 24th, 1931, when he was on
holiday at his home, Dykesfield, Cumberland. Bishop Maclnnes
succeeded the late Bishop Blyth in 1914, and was a member of
the P.E.F. and of its General Committee. Many will remember
the useful handbook on Palestine which he wrote for the use of
the troops there during the war.
Annual No. 5 contains Mr. Crowfoot’s report on his work at Ophel
and the Tyropoeon Valley during the excavating season of 1927. He
was assisted by Mr. G. M. FitzGerald, Assistant-Director of the
British School of Archaeology, who has written the second part of
the book dealing with the pottery and smaller finds, while Mr.
Crowfoot describes the buildings and levels, analysing the strati-
fication of the site from the earliest times to the Arab Conquest and
the Crusading period. The volume contains as frontispiece the
Old Gate from the north-west, 22 other plates, and 21 illustrations,
there are 131 pages of letterpress and an index. Price 31s. 6d. to
non-members.
By an arrangement with Sir Flinders Petrie, Members of the
P.E.F. are enabled to purchase at half the published price the
Reports of the British School of Archaeology in Egypt dealing with
the Society’s researches in Palestine. Reciprocally, the excavation
Reports of the P.E.F. henceforth issued are available to Members
of the School in Egypt similarly at half-price. P.E.F. Members
desirous of taking advantage of this privilege should apply to the
Secretary, 2, Hinde Street, W.l.
58
NOTES AND NEWS.
Antiques for Sale . — A small collection of antiquities from the
excavations at Ophel is on view at the Museum of the Fund, 2,
Hinde Street, Manchester Square, W.l, and a number of duplicates
including pottery lamps, stamped Rhodian jar-handles, etc., are
on sale.
Miss C. M. Finn has kindly presented to the Fund seven pieces
of Archaic Greek pottery, five vases of which are certified by the
British Museum as Corinthian ware dating from the seventh century,
b.c. Miss Finn instructs that they be offered for sale, and that the
proceeds be devoted to the work of the Fund. Interested collectors
are invited to call at 2, Hinde Street, and inspect them.
The new plan of Jerusalem on a scale of approximately 1 : 5,000,
or about 12 inches to a mile, recently published by the Pro- Jerusalem
Society, is now on sale at the P.E.F. office. Unmounted it measures
39 X 34 inches, and the price is 5s. ; mounted on cotton and folded
to size 8x6 inches, price 9s. The latter form is the more con-
venient, as owing to its size the unmounted sheet cannot be sent
through the post without a fold.
Churches at Jerash . — A Preliminary Report of the Joint Yale-
British School Expeditions to Jerash, 1928-1930, by J. W.
Crowfoot, C.B.E., M.A., has been published as Supplementary Paper
No. 3 by the Council of the British School of Archaeology in
Jerusalem, and can be obtained at 2, Hinde Street. Price 5s.
The reduced price to members of the P.E.F. or B.S.A.J. is 2s. 6d.
The library of the Palestine Exploration Fund contains some
duplicate volumes. They may be purchased, and a list, with
the price of each volume, has been prepared, and can be obtained
on application.
The list of books received will be found on p. 59/.
NOTES AND NEWS.
59
It may be well to mention that plans and photographs alluded
to in the reports from Jerusalem and elsewhere cannot all be
published, but they are preserved in the office of the Fund, where
they may be seen by subscribers.
The Committee gratefully acknowledge the following special
contributions from : —
£
s.
d.
Miss E. M. Courthope
4
0
0
Frank Fremlin, Esq. ... ... ...
5
0
0
Mrs. Traquair (for equal division P.E.F. and B.S.A.J.)
10
0
0
Mrs. W. D. White
5
5
0
The Annua l Report of the Palestine Exploration Fund, with Account k
and List of Subscriptions for 1931 is issued with this number.
A complete set of the Quarterly Statements , 1869-1910, containing
some of the early letters (now scai'ce), with an index, 1869-1910, bound
in the Palestine Exploration Fund cases, can be had. Price on application
to the Secretary, 2, Hinde Street, Manchester Square, W. 1 .
The price of a complete set of the translations published by the*
Palestine Pilgrims’ Text Society, in 13 volumes, with general index*
bound in cloth, is £15 15s. Subscriber’s price £14 14s. A catalogue
describing the contents of each volume can be had on application to
the Secretary, 2, Hinde Street, Manchester Square, W.l.
The Museum at the Office of the Fund, 2, Hinde Street, Manchester
Square, W.l, is open to visitors every week-day from 10 o’clock till 5 except
Saturdays, when it is closed at 1 p.m.
The Committee have to acknowledge with thanks the following : —
The Near East , February 11 : Hebrew songs of Palestine.
The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology*
Scottish Geographical Magazine .
The Expository Times , February. Recent Biblical Archaeology, by
Fwev, J. W. Jack.
The New Judo 1 a.
60
NOTES AND NEWS.
Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution, 1930. (Washington,
1931). Preliminary report on the en-Nasbeh excavations, by
W. F. Badfe ; Recent progress in the field of Old World Pre-history,
by G. G. MacCurdy.
American Journal of Philology.
Journal of the American Oriental Society, December.
The Museum Journal : University of Pennsylvania, xxii-3-4. Excava-
tions at Fara, 1931, by Erich Schmidt ; excavations at Ur, 1930-1,
by 0. L. Woolley.
Barhebraeus ’ Scholia on the Old Testament , i. Genesis — ii. Samuel. By
M. Sprengling, and W. C. Graham (Chicago Oriental Instit., vol. xiii.)
Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Neiv York).
Jewish Quarterly Review , January.
The Homiletic Review.
Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research, xi. (1929-30).
Jerash-Gerasa, 1930, by C. S. Fisher and C. C. McCown ; second
campaign at Jerash, by C. S. Fisher, etc.
Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, December.
The Aramaic inscription relating to Uzziah, by W. F. Albright ;
news from the school in Jerusalem ; The Summer Institute in
Palestine.
Anatolia through the Ages : Discoveries at the Alishar Mound, 1927-29.
By Erich F. Schmidt. (Chicago Oriental Institute.)
Bulletin de Corvespondance Hellenique, 1931, i.
Syria, xii, 1,2. The caravan route between Palmyra and Hit in the
2nd cent, a.d., by R. Mouterde and A. Poidebard ; Palmyrene texts
from the temple of Bel, by J. Cantineau ; Arabic texts from the same,
by J. Sauvaget; Persian art at Burlington House, by A. Bey
Sakisian ; etc. xii, 3. A Phoenician poem from Ras Shamra, by C.
Virolleaud ; the vocabularies by F. Thureau-Dangin ; Apropos of
Atargatis, by P. Pedrizet ; The Roman limes, by P. Poidebard.
Revue Biblique, October. Abraham in the framework of history, by P.
Dhorme; the description of the physical aspect of Jesus, by Josephus,
by F. M. Braun ; the Nazareth inscription on the violation of tombs,
by R. Tonneau ; Apropos the Strata Diocletiana, by M. Dunand,
etc. January, 1932, the Metrology of the Bible (concluded), by
A. Barrois; Exploration of the south-east of the Valley of the
Jordan, by F.-M. Abel ; a Greek- Hebrew inscription from Otranto,
by J.-B. Frey.
Journal Asiatiqne, April- June, 1931. The true name of the Indo-
European Hittites, by B. Hrozny ; the Kanisian language, by
L. K, Gray.
NOTES AND NEWS.
61
Biblica , xiii, 1. The northern border of Benjamin, by A. Fernandez (in
Spanish) ; recent publications on the excavations in Palestine, by
A. Mai Ion.
Archiv Orientalni , iii, 3. The rearing and training of horses among the
Indo-Europeans of the XIVth Cent, b.c., by B. Hrozny.
Litter ce Orientalis (Harrassowitz, Leipzig), xlix. The use of Aramaic in
the Achsemenid empire, by O. G. von Wesendonk.
Archiv fur Orientforschung , vii, 4. Clay figurines of weeping mourners,
by W. F. v. Bissing ; the Syro-Mesopotamian god Shulman- Eshmun
and related figures by W. F. Albright.
Orientalistische Literal urzeii ung, December, 1 93 1 . A new Hyksos king,
by W. Wreszinski. (See Notes and Queries, p. 104). January, 1932.
The significance of the art of Asia, by Z. v. Takaes.
Mitieihmgen des Dentscheii Archdolog. last., Athaenische Aht lv., 1930.
The Quarterly of the Department of Antiquities in Palestine , i, 3. Street
levels in the Tyropoeon Valley, by R. W. H. ; Excavations at Pilgrim’s
Castle (Athlit), by C. N. J. ; Coins in the Palestinian Museum, by
C. L. ; Bibliography of excavations in Palestine ( concluded ).
Bible Lands , January. The ethical system of Judaism, by Canon
Danby. The Haram at Hebron.
N E A SION, November. Notes on Exodus, by B. M. Bella.
ALMashrih . January. Syria at the time of the Arab Conquest, by
P. Lammens.
From Mr. Pilcher : Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society .
The Committee will be grateful to any subscribers who may be disposed
to present to the Fund any of the following books : —
The Memoirs of the Survey of Western Palestine .
The Quarterly Stateme?it 9 from 1869 up to date.
Due de Luynes, Voyage d la Mer Morte (IS64) ; published about 1874.
K. von Raumer, Der Zug der Isrdliten . (Leipzig, 1 837).
Lagarde, Onomastica Sacra (1887).
Le Strange, Palestine Under the Moslems (1890).
New Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, English Translation. Original
text edited, formulated, and punctuated by Michael L. Rodkinson.
Revised and corrected by the Rev. Dr. Isaac M. Wise. Published
by the New Amsterdam Book Company, New York. Vol. i,
Sabbath already in the Library ; subsequent volumes wanted.
62
NOTES AND NEWS.
Whilst desiring to give publicity to proposed identification
and other theories advanced by officers of the Fund and contributors
to the pages of the Quarterly Statement , the Committee wish it to
be distinctly understood that by publishing them in the Quarterly
Statement they do not necessarily sanction or adopt them.
Form op Bequest to the Palestine Exploration Fund.
I give to the Palestine Exploration Fund, London, the sum of
to be applied towards the General Work of the Fund ; and I direct that the
said sum be paid, free of legacy Duty, and that the Receipt of the Treasurer
of the Palestine Exploration Fund shall be a sufficient discharge for the same.
Note. — Three Witnesses are necessary to a Will by the Law of the United
States of America , and Tivo by the Law nf the United Kingdom.
63
THE EXPEDITION TO SAMARIA— SEBUSTIYA.
THE FORUM THRESHING FLOOR AREA*
By J. W. Cboweoot, C.B.E., M.A.
On the west side of Sebustiya there is a broad level stretch of
land between the village and the ruins of the so-called basilica.
This area, which measures nearly 130 m. from east to west and about
85 m. from north to south, is now occupied by the threshing floors
of the villagers ; in the Roman period part of it was almost certainly
the site of the forum which was a large open rectangle surrounded
by colonnades on ail sides. The level has changed very little since
Roman days ; from east to west and from north to south the surface
is only broken by the low ridges which divide the threshing floors
from one another, at the west end about a metre and a half of debris
has accumulated above the floor of the colonnade, at the east end
the present surface is a few centimetres below the old one.
From the archaeologist’s standpoint as a field for excavation
this area has two drawbacks. It is so close to the village that it
was probably the first place to be systematically pillaged for
building material, and there is consequently so little accumulation
that little of the forum can remain except the foundations.
Secondly, it is now parcelled out among a multitude of small owners ;
there is hardly anyone in the village who has not a share in some
part, of it and the native feels a peculiar sentiment about his
threshing floor, the place where his harvest of grain and beans lies,
which he is not slow to translate into terms of cash : on practical
grounds, moreover, it is admittedly bad for a threshing floor to be
broken up, the people point to one dug by our predecessors more
than twenty years ago which has not yet recovered. In consequence
we found that except at the south-west corner which belonged to
good friends, it was only after much haggling that we secured
permission to sink some exiguous trenches which were measured
out metre by metre. The difficulties about this site are therefore
considerable while the promise is small, and we were only tempted
to work here by the hope of solving the problems raised by the great
Israelite wall which we discovered near by last April. The results
* The Plans which illustrate this report are the work of Mr. T. Pinkerfeld
and Mr. X. Reiss.
64
THE EXPEDITION TO SAMARIA.
we are glad to say have been more satisfactory than might have
been expected.
Our predecessors fortunately planned the area at a time when
there was much more above the surface than is now visible. Twenty
years ago there were several stones of the eastern enclosure wall still
standing and these enabled Schumacher and Fisher to measure the
total area, and construct a sketch plan of the original building.
Excavation then was confined to parts immediately adjoining the
basilica ; here about two-thirds of the west colonnade of the forum
and one bay on the north side were cleared. During the last autumn
we have cleared the south-west corner, and made six soundings in
other parts of the area, one on the north side — Bz, one in the north-
west quarter east of the west colonnade — Bx, three along the south
side of the forum — Bm, Bn and Bo, and one still further south
below the terrace wall of the most southerly threshing floor — Bp.
Dr.' Fisher (I, p. 211) describes the site as “ a large, fairly level,
natural terrace/ 5 but its present appearance does not give any idea
really of the original natural features ; this level expanse like other
level areas in Sebustiya is an artificial creation. It lies about
midway between the summit and the valley below the mosque and
so far as we can tell the ridge originally ran along the north half of
our site sloping very gently towards the east ; the broken contour of
this ridge was converted into the level plain we see to-day by a
series of operations undertaken at different times, far the most
considerable of them being those undertaken in the Eoman period
by the builders of the forum. At the east end these builders raised
the level by an embankment, at the west end they reduced the rock
slightly in height, and on the north and south parallel retaining
terrace walls were built on either side of the ridge to create an
adequate platform. These walls were of some magnitude, the
retaining wall under the south colonnade being in one place over
6 m. high, but the site had a long history before and after the
Eoman period.
The whole area lay certainly within the limits of the Israelite
city ; the confirmation of this fact, of which our discoveries last
spring gave the first inkling, is perhaps the most valuable result of
the autumn campaign. At the south-west corner we found the
remains of a great Israelite wall running from north to south exactly
parallel to the short length of walling which we found last spring in
THE EXPEDITION TO SA3VI ART A*
65
the Hakurat el-Baidar 12 m. to the west. It was constructed in
the same method but it was not so well preserved (see Plate 3).
The foundation course which was followed for 13.5 m. consisted of
large stones laid in a rock-cut trench measuring 3 . 5 m. from side to
side. Of the course above the foundation only a small section
remained in position ; it included two facing blocks, a stretcher and
a header, both dressed in the usual Israelite fashion with drafted
margins on three sides only, that on the top side being the wider.
The stones in this first course rested immediately on a packing of
small stones and earth, although several blocks in the foundation
course look as if they had been specially dressed to receive them ; a
similar packing was observed also in the short length of walling to
the west mentioned above but nowhere else so far as we know.
Beyond the last of the foundation stones the empty rock-cut trench
was followed for another 6.5 m., but at this point the rock suddenly
dropped and the end of both trench and wall had evidently collapsed
over the edge of the hill-side. This wall is identical in construction
with the walls previously found and it is exactly parallel to one of
them ; there can be no doubt, therefore, that it forms part of the
same building, and this building we take to have been a massive
tower abutting on the city wall. Anyone who looks up at the
position of such a tower from below, from the columned street, will
realise what an important point it must have been in any scheme for
the defence of the upper city.
Our trench was extended for fifteen metres east of the wall just
described, but later building activities have obliterated further trace
of Israelite building at this point : we cannot say, therefore, whether
this tower flanked a gate or not. In a sounding, Bn, 65 m. to the
east, however, we came upon another rock trench with a few
typically Israelite stones still lying in it ; one of the. stones lay under
the foundation wall of the forum stylobate, and the rock trench
ran south for 5. 1 m. across the width of the south colonnade turning
at right angles to the west approximately under the line of the forum
enclosure wall. Several Israelite potsherds were found in this
sounding, and there was a floor of beaten yellow earth with fragments
of charcoal in it on the west of the rock trench. If, as we suppose,
the Israelite city wall continued here along the first natural terrace
below the ridge, this trench probably held the foundations of a
bastion on the wall.
66
THE EXPEDITION TO SAMARIA.
On the north side of the forum area the rock is much closer to the
surface. Dr. Fisher shows on his plan (II, 12) three fragments of
Israelite building north of the basilica and describes a trench with
Israelite building under the basilica (I, p. 165). We uncovered the
larger of the three northern fragments and satisfied ourselves that it
was of the Israelite period ; the trench under the basilica we found
continuing 17.3 m. east of the forum wall. The stones lying in this
trench are not so large or so regular as those in the trenches on the
south, but Israelite potsherds were found here and there is no reason
why it should not belong to some building within the fortified
zone.
There is conclusive evidence, therefore, that the Israelite city
included the greater part of the threshing floor area and that no
serious effort was made in Israelite times to modify the natural
configuration. The Israelite wall was built below the crest of the
ridge, and the dressed facing blocks at the south-west corners and
the beaten floor in Bn. show that in places along this side the level of
occupation was from 4 to 6 metres below the Homan level.
Great quantities of post-Israelite or Hellenistic pottery, similar
to that found in the lowest strata on the Summit, were turned up in
our soundings under the south colonnade of the forum, and at the
south-west corner above the empty trench of the Israelite wail we
found a large batch of inscribed Rhodian jar-handles, the rim of a
brazier decorated with three demon heads of the 2nd century b.c.,
and several Ptolemaic and Seleucid coins. The only buildings which
may possibly be assigned to this period are some extremely poor
foundation walls under the south colonnade (Bn.), and secondly a
continuation in the north-west quarter of the forum (Bx.) of the
enigmatic foundations discovered by our predecessors under the
basilica. These foundations certainly belong to some public building
of importance, and Dr. Fisher may be right in identifying them
tentatively as the foundations of a temple. But the most interesting
fact about this building, whatever it may be, is that it is set out on the
same axis as the later forum, and the wretched foundation walls
found under the south colonnade are also aligned like the forum and
not like the Israelite walls. The buildings of this period, therefore,
though they may have been completely buried by the Herodian
revival of Samaria, exercised an enduring influence on the lay-out
of our site.
THE EXPEDITION TO SAMARIA.
67
From east to west the Roman forum measured 128 m. according
to Dr. Fisher, this figure being based on the line of walling which has
now disappeared ; from north to south it measured about 72.5 m.
It is not quite rectangular, as Dr. Fisher points out, but the planning
was very careful, the width of the colonnade and the spacing of the
columns hardly varying at all where they can be checked.
At the north-west corner our predecessors uncovered the remains
of the stylobate and the foundation of the terrace wall opposite.
Some 15 m. further east (Bz.) we were fortunate in finding two of the
upper courses of the terrace wall still in position for a distance of
nearly 30 m. The top course was composed entirely of stretchers,
the second entirely of headers, and both were about 53 cm. high.
All the stones in these two courses were drafted on all four sides,
the bottom margin usually being the widest ; the bosses vary very
much in projection. The masonry below these courses is similar
to that illustrated by Dr. Fisher (I ill. 137), and it is obvious that it
was not intended to be seen. Rock was reached 4.1m. below the
top course and in the earth we removed there were hardly any
potsherds later than the first century b.c,, which in itself suggests
that there was from the beginning an earth bank or terrace which
reached up to the bottom of the drafted courses. A similar combina-
tion of similarly drafted masonry with much rougher concealed
foundational work is to be seen also at the West Gate and on the
town wall south of Kararn el-Sheikh, and all three probably belong
to the same period.
On the south side of the forum parts of the enclosure wall were
found still standing more than a metre high above the original paving
for a distance of some 15 m* (Plates IV and V). On the inner side the
foundation course which hs of large well-dressed stones projects
about 30 cm. on approximately the same level as the stylobate : at
the west end this course rests directly on the rock, further east
where the rock drops it rests on nibble. The wall above was built of
unbossed stones, each course composed of alternating headers and
stretchers, the headers spanning the full width of the wall —
90 cm. ; the first course was 55 cm. high, the second 56 cm., and the
stones were laid in lime-mortar. In the section cleared there is a
break in which only the foundation course remains, and the fact
that this break corresponds with a change in the level of the courses
for a short distance on each side of it suggests that there may have
08
THE EXPEDITION TO SAMARIA.
been an entrance here. This entrance would be opposite to the
fourth and fifth pedestals on the stylobate and it happens to be
exactly above the line of the Israelite wall.
Most of the stylobate opposite to this section of the wall is still in
position, there is no intermediate pavement left and all the pedestals
including that at the corner have disappeared with the exception of
two which were originally the sixth and seventh on the line : these
two are now joined by a late rubble wall like that found by our
predecessors on the west side. East of this the level drops and it is
impossible that any more pedestals can remain in position ; the
stylobate was found still intact in Bo, but in Bn. only the foundation
wall and the stones immediately below the stylobate remain. The
foundations below the stylobate in Bo. and Bn. were of the same
character as the foundation of the enclosure wall on the north side ;
in both they were carried down to the rock, which was 4 m. below the
stylobate in Bo. and 6 m. in Bn, figures which give some idea of the
amount of artificial embankment below the level platform on this
side (Plate VI). This embankment was not wholly the work of the
Romans. About 2 m. below the floor level of the colonnade there
was evidence of an earlier level of occupation which was cut through
by the constructional trench used by the builders of the forum, and
below this earlier level there were remains of poor walls above the
Israelite rock trench. One of these poor walls lay under the line
of the forum enclosure wall but separated from the foundations of it
by a metre of debris. The ground, therefore, had risen before the
forum was built some 4 metres above the Israelite level, which was
close to the rock.
At the east end of the south side within the limits of the forum,
as defined by Fisher, we examined the south wall of a massive
building which differs in character from those we found elsewhere.
Three regular courses are in position, the top course entirely composed
of headers about 68 cm. high, the next of stretchers about 73 cm.
high, and the bottom one of headers about the same height. The
two upper courses have weathered badly, the stones in the bottom
course have drafted margins but no bosses ; a late cistern and other
buildings have been constructed against the foundations below these
courses and rock was not yet reached at this point. It is impossible,
therefore, to say much about the character of this building but
THE EXPEDITION TO SAMARIA.
69
it was evidently more monumental in style than those further west ;
it is in the same line as the forum.
A great water conduit running under the western half of the south
colonnade and continuing at least up to the west line of the basilica
was the most surprising discovery made in this area. We came upon
it first through a man-hole which opened in the floor of the colonnade
near the south-west corner of our area — Bg. The bottom of the
conduit lay 3 . 5 metres below floor level at this point, and the conduit
was built entirely in a broad and deep excavation in the rock. The
side walls of the conduit were about 1.25 m. high, the passage
between them about 53 cm. wide but contracted toward the bottom
by a cemented trough ; it was roofed with inclined slabs, the height
inside from the bottom of the gutter to the top of the roof being
1.6m. The bottom was graded gently but regularly with a fail from
east to west. To the west of the man-hole the built conduit
continued for nearly 20 m. ; at this point there was a short descent
excavated wholly in the rock, and then the passage continued for
more than 30 m. as a tunnel in the rock to open finally in a small
circular vaulted chamber lined with well-cut masonry ; the rock-cut
channel continued 1.5 m. further to another man-hole beyond which
the passage was blocked with debris. East of the man-hole by which
we first entered it the conduit was clear for some 40 in., a third
man-hole being passed on the way, but the passage was then filled
with earth and we had to enter it from above in Bo. Here the bottom
of the conduit was practically on rock level, and the passage after
continuing east for some 4 m. turned at right angles to the south.
At the turn there was a small square settling tank under a fourth
man-hole, and in the next section the roof had unfortunately given
way : we reached an arch nearly 2 m. south of the tank hut further
progress underground was impossible and we cannot say in what
direction the conduit continued. We tried to strike it in an adjoining
garden (Bp.), but failed, so we are inclined to think that it turns
again to the east. The total length explored was over 100 m. and in
this length there were two gutters, both on the north side and both
dropping towards the north, carrying water therefore not to, but
from, the main conduit. The direction of these gutters, the west-
ward inclination of the main channel, the depth to which it was
carried in the rock, the number of man-holes, and the absence of any
accumulation over the greater part of its length, are all evidences
70
THE EXPEDITION TO SAMARIA.
that it was a conduit and not a sewer. It is admirably built : the
corners of the inclined roofing blocks are bevelled so as to meet on an
18 cm. broad face and to rest on a 13 cm. broad face on the side
walls, not like those in a tunnel on the Summit drawn by Fisher
(I, p. 189, illustration 109) : it is in fact a very competent piece of
engineering, certainly one of the most interesting examples of Roman
engineering which has been found in Palestine. We hope some day
to find out from what springs the Romans drew their water, whether
from Nablufe, as it has been reported, or from the springs at Nakura
which supply the present inhabitants.
Our unsuccessful search for the continuation of the conduit in
Bp. laid bare another fragment of the early Christian paved road
which was found in the Hakurat el-Baidar. This road, which was
very well paved, was exactly parallel to the line of the south forum
colonnade which, as we have seen, was also that of the Hellenistic
period. On both sides of the street we found houses in the earlier
excavation, and in the autumn campaign we found remains of
intensive occupation on the north side, lasting on into the Arab
period when, however, there were several departures from the old
alignment. There was a well-preserved oil-press of a type which is
still in common use ; the large circular drum in which the screw
revolved, the grooved floor-slabs, and the stone vessel into which the
oil poured were all in position. Near by there were several remains
of a glass factory, and a Byzantine bath or vat rested immediately
above the Israelite wall. It is unnecessary to ask why the relics of
the earlier periods are so fragmentary, and why we failed to find
clear evidence of the supposed Israelite gate.
I Israelite
\ Hellenish
Plate IV.
Palestine Exploration Fund.
8outh-west corner of Forum from the east, showing the stylobate of tiie colonnade
AND THE ENCLOSURE WALL BETWEEN WHICH IS THE ROCK TRENCH OF THE CONDUIT,
ONE MAN-HOLE APPEARING AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PICTURE.
BEYOND THIS OPENING
Foundation of south colonnade of Forum, showing Israelite
STONES AT THE BOTTOM, FROM THE SOUTH.
71
PEBE MALLON’S EXCAVATION OF TELBILAT GHASSUL.
By the Bev. J. Garrow Duncan, B.D.
Teleilat Ghassul lies in the centre of the plains of Moab ( e areboth
Moab , Numbers xxxiii, 48), roughly three-and-a-half miles north of
the Dead Sea, three miles east of Jordan, and two-and-a-half miles
west of the mountains of Moab.
It is one of the most ancient of the many Tells in this region,
which indicate that in the Bronze Ages this district was much
more densely populated than it is to-day. These mounds are
composed almost entirely of accumulated debris, so that the towns
which they represent were literally cities built on the plain. There
is no natural elevation to speak of, and attention was drawn to them
chiefly by the numerous fragments of pottery of very early date,
flints, and other objects, scattered on the surface.
Excavation begun in 1929-1930, was continued last winter
under the directorship of Pere Mallon, of the Biblical Pontifical
Institute of Jerusalem. Altogether, about 2,500 square metres or
slightly less than §~acre, have been excavated in the southern Tell,
with soundings here and there to define its limits. As Pere Mallon
explains it, the name Teleilat, a plural, means “ small mounds/ 5
and Ghassul is from ghassala , “to wash, 55 so called from the soda
or plant used for washing, which covers the ruins.
The natural soil here is sand. The whole valley is, in fact, an
ancient sea-floor composed of a heavy deposit of clay made while
it was under the sea, on which lies a layer of sand 7-8 feet deep,
deposited there at the same period. Above this is another layer of
sand thrown up by the movement of the water as the sea retreated.
This layer is alluvial, and is distinguished from the diluvial layer
under it by the presence of small pebbles. The ruins thus rest on
sand, alluvial or diluvial, for in some parts the alluvial layer has been
removed by erosion before building had begun.
The deepest excavation reached the natural soil at about 18 feet .
The Tell slopes on every side, in depth diminishing towards the circum-
ference, till it fades away into the surrounding plain. To the south
of the mound on the edge of the Wady Jarafa, suburbs (belonging
72 PEKE MALLOWS EXCAVATION OF TELE1LAT GHASSUL.
to the latest occupation) were found, and, with these included,
the whole ruin measures roughly cc 800 by 400 metres.”
Excavation has shown that the mound contains four floors,
separated from each other by only one metre of accumulated debris.
As each floor is covered with a layer of ashes varying in depth, it is
clear that this town had been destroyed by fire at four different
periods with no great interval between : and on each occasion, the
town had been rebuilt on the ashes of its predecessor.
These four floors were traced to the centre of the mound, but
from there the depth of debris between them diminished till finally
only two floors or levels could be distinguished.
Towns I and II, the two earliest occupations, had covered only
the centre of the mound, while towns III and IV had been enlarged
in the course of reconstruction, and covered a larger area. As the
third floor is shallower and in parts scarcely distinguishable from
the fourth, it appears that towns III and IV had been destroyed
at a much shorter interval of time. The pottery found in the southern
suburbs shows that they belonged to town IV, the latest occupation.
The pottery found belongs to the two periods, Neolithic and
Early Bronze, and would thus fix the limits of occupation from prior
to 2500 b.c. down to not later than 2200-2100 b.c. At the latter
date town IV had been completely destroyed by fire, and the site
had never been re-occupied. Eighteen to twenty feet of accumu-
lated debris suggests in itself a long period of occupation.
Pere Mallon thinks that levels III and IV show indications of
the incipient stages of the II Bronze Age civilisation, and would fix the
date of final destruction at about 1800. The only evidence for this
he says, rests on the finding of pots with wide mouths or necks.
If these are what we speak of as wide -mouth neckless meal or corn
jars, they are not conclusive evidence of the II Bronze Age civilisa-
tion, as he himself admits. On the other hand, there is a complete
absence of piriform vases and other types peculiar to the Hyksos
period. There is, in fact, no trace of the presence of the Hyksos
civilisation whatever.
Several objects in bronze, however, an axe £C of archaic type,”
a fragment of another, seven broken spear-points, and several other
undetermined fragments, were found in the uppermost level of
town IV ; and on these Pore Mallon bases his conclusion that
PEBE MALLOWS EXCAVATION OF TELEILAT GHASSTIL. 73
town IV subsisted till the early half of the II Bronze Age. This
implies the assumption that bronze did not appear in this region
earlier than 2000-1800 b.c. The date of the final destruction of
town IV, therefore, depends on the date which we can assign to
the first appearance of bronze in that region. Sir Flinders Petrie
informs me that at Tell Ajjul bronze appears by 2100 b.c., and
there also the Copper Age (when Early Bronze) is 3200 b.c. (V
Dynasty). 1
So far, therefore, as the evidence of pottery and bronze goes at
this stage, there is not much ground for supposing that town IV
was destroyed at a later date than 2100 B.C., and there is a strong
presumption that this site was not occupied during the II Bronze
period.
This is further confirmed by the total absence of metal in any
form except on the very surface of the latest level. Bone and hint
implements are found over all the strata. One hundred bone
needles or pins and a thousand chisels, gouges and axes of bone or
Hint have been found. This profusion of bone and Hint is not in
itself conclusive, but taken along with the complete absence of
copper and bronze is indicative of a very early date.
Bone continued to be used in Palestine down to a much later
period. Flint also, as Bethpelet has proved, continued in use right
down through the earliest Iron Age and even then Neolithic types
were reproduced.
Ail that we can say of flint is that, as metals came in and became
more easily procured, flint-working degenerated, and flint came to be
used only where the people were unable to obtain metal, as in
Southern Judea.
Pere Mallon, who is a recognised authority on Flints, states in
his unpublished report of these excavations that by the end of the
II Bronze Age flint implements were reduced to a few types and
changed in form. c; The fan-shaped scraper became thicker and
heavier ; the sickle became wider ; the chisel disappeared entirely,
and the short thick-set knife was replaced by a fine long blade
with two parallel edges. J>
1 One ot“ these bronze fragments has been analysed at the Paris School
of Mines at Mr. NeuviUe’s request. The analysis gave 7 per cent. tin. A
bronze ring from the Cave of 0mm Gatafa, of which the upper stratum showed
the same civilisation as Teleilat Ghassul had the same* composition.
74 PERE MALLOW'S EXCAVATION OE TELE1LAT OHASSUL.
Now, town IV, the latest, has furnished three or four long blades
of this kind, an insignificant number certainly, alongside of the
mass of knives found with one sharp edge and blunt back, but
perhaps an indication that at the time of its final destruction this
town had reached the period of transition which would have ended
in the civilisation of the II Bronze Age.
The two earliest occupations belong to the same period, Neolithic
to Early Bronze, and the civilisation seems to be the same throughout
the four strata. The bone work is the same. The flint work is
the same, excepting the knives above mentioned found on the
surface of town IV. The pottery is of characteristic Early Bronze
types, e.g., the horn-shape, the footed bowl, the spouted jug, the
decoration, and above all the use of the comb.
In building, the same type of brick, hand-made without a mould,
is used throughout. The walls of brick were laid on stone founda-
tions, and in town IV the stone foundations rest on the old brick
walls of its destroyed predecessor, town III.
The site, therefore, had been occupied by the same people during
the whole of its history. The absence of Hyksos pottery proves
that, if the Hyksos did destroy the town, they never occupied it.
The civilisation is obviously not local, but that of an immigrant
people — the same as we find in all other sites examined, described
as the Early Bronze or Copper Age, brought by the same people
and supplanting the Cave-dweller civilisation. We generally speak
of these immigrants as Amorites.
It is not inconsistent with the slender indications of the ap-
proaching II Bronze Age suggested by Pere Mallon to conclude
from the evidence that town IV, the latest occupation, was destroyed
towards the end of the Early Bronze Age.
There can be no doubt that town IV sank in a vast conflagration.
In Pere Mallon’s description — heaps of ashes, with broken and
calcined stones fill the ruins and at points appear even on the surface.
Town III appears to have fallen in a similar manner. In the
two earliest towns, some of the ash deposits are merely from hearths,
but others lie in strata of varying depth as in towns III and IV.
Further excavation must determine the nature of their destruction.
The ashes are very dirty and through the action of water have
lost much of their original ingredients. Koeppel compares them
PEPoE mallon's excavation oe teleilat ghassul. 75
with the ashes found in Jericho, Beth-shemesh, and Bet Mirsim.
The analysis gave 70-90 per cent, of sand and the rest carbon.
At Teleilat Ghassul there is also some vegetable matter.
In the lowest strata, as is natural, less carbon is found and the
strata are shallower and more mixed.
The southern mound, of which we have been speaking, is
separated from the North Tell by a slight depression of some width
running east to west.
There had thus been two sister towns side by side, much as we
find at the ruins of ancient Tiberias.
Examination has shown that these two towns were contemporary.
The surface debris and the results of soundings in the North Tell
show the same civilisation as found in the South Tell.
Traces of violent conflagration were found, layers of ashes
succeeded by mud and debris, with methodical levelling and
reconstruction.
Inscribed objects were found all over the four levels, from top to
bottom of the Tell; but until more is known about them it will
be wise to refrain from discussing them.
These objects consist of potsherds, pebbles, carved stones, seals
and bricks. The greater number have been found so far in the
uppermost level, for the reason that it has been most fully exca-
vated. They bear signs or letters of a very crude character.
1. Potsherds. About 300 potsherds have been found bearing
these crude marks. On some the inscription is broken where the
sherd is broken, on others it is complete. The marks were not
stamped on the soft clay, but incised on the outside of the complete
vessel after baking ; and they occur all over the body of the pot,
on the sides, base, handles, near the brim and at different heights.
150 of these bear only one 4 £ sign or picture.” The others have
2, 3, 4 or at most 5 or 6. The same signs are frequently repeated on
the same, and on other sherds. If genuine, these may be potters 5
marks, or perhaps the marks of the owners incised or scratched on
the pot after purchase.
2. Stones and Seals. These are mostly complete and number
about 170 : and may be grouped as follows :
76 PERE mallon's excavation of teleilat ohassul.
(a) Seals, with one side polished for the signs and frequently a
hole bored for suspension. These bear several signs and one has
them incised on the end of a fossil (actaea Solomonic).
(b) Weapons and Tools. Two mace-heads and some rounded
chisels.
(c) Stones and pebbles of various shapes — some used as picked
up, others flattened and polished before incision. Some have one
or two holes for suspension. One is unique — shaped like a locket
and inscribed on both sides.
They vary in size from 1 to 10 centimetres. On the largest
stones the inscription usually forms a picture, divided into two or
three sections and surrounded by a notched edge framing.
3. Bricks and similar material.
(а) Bricks hand made, without a mould, bearing a large deep
stamp impressed on the soft material.
(б) Lumps of clay made in the form of stamps, hand-moulded
and sun-dried, hard and tough. With only two exceptions the
marks on these are the same as on the stones and potsherds.
On these Inscribed Objects Pere Mallon remarks :
The number and variety of these inscribed objects indicate that
they were in constant use and formed part of the daily life of the
people. All the signs have a family likeness and form a well-
characterised group. The straight line is the dominating element.
Curves are very rare — a fact which is probably due to the material
used being generally hard. The instrument used was doubtless a
graving tool or a flint point.
Any study of them, while the excavations are uncompleted?
must, of course, be provisional, but we note that as these inscribed
objects are found in the very lowest stratum, they are, therefore, of
great antiquity, and had been brought in by the original builders of
the town, in their earliest forms at least, for development is observable
as in the case of the pottery.
Pere Mallon does not mention the exact depth at which any
particular examples were discovered, but states that they were found
in all four levels. He gives also a specimen of a small pendant with
a mark like the Greek letter Psi and four punch holes round it
from Tell Iktanu, “ found at the same depth with Early Bronze
pottery.”
PEBE MALLOWS EXCAVATION OF TELEILAT GHASSUL. 77
Sir Flinders Petrie points out that these pebble marks are not
comparable with any Egyptian marks. One can see partial re-
semblances to potters’ marks of later date and lamp decoration of
a still later period : but until further excavation and Pere Mallon’s
full publication has appeared the matter must be left in abeyance,
Mr. Garrow Duncan writes very tentatively on the pebble marks,
fuller information on which (depths at which they were found, analogies,
etc.) is much to be desired. As he points out, several of them are more or
less alike. The design on Nos. 1 and 9 might conceivably be a crude attempt
to depict a boat with rowers, the opposite side being indicated by a tree.
No. 12 was found at Tell Iktanu some distance away with Early Bronze Age
pottery at the same depth as those from T. G. L. The design V is quite
common, and the tree or branch runs down to Byzantine and Arab times.
No. 4 looks rather local and recent, so also No. 3 ; No. 8 is unusual*
The marks in some cases resemble those used by potters. Meanwhile
Father Mallon appears to have no doubt that all are genuine attempts at
writing of about 3000 — 2000 me. Selected illustrations of them have
already appeared in the Graphic and in Ancient Egypt, and those which
are reproduced here on the plate will suffice to give experts material to
work upon. It may be added that Prof. Minns tentatively suggests that
the typical design (as on No. 9) might represent an enclosure. — Ed.
78
THE “ GREAT BUKNINGS ” OP MEIRON. 1
By H. 0. Luke, C.M.G., B.Litt.
In more than one respect is Palestine a land of contrasts. Climati-
cally it probably affords greater diversity within its 10,000 square
miles than any other territory of its size, for, although its loftiest
mountain is not more than 4,000 feet high, it possesses in the sub-
tropical Jordan valley the lowest depression in the earth’s surface.
In civilisation it runs the gamut between the primitive, patriarchal
conditions of the Old Testament, under which the Badawin still
live, and the most modern forms of urban life in such towns as Tel
Aviv. And in few countries are religious contrasts more sharply
defined than in the land which has given to the world Judaism and
Christianity and has played an important part in the early develop-
ment of Islam.
Yet, with all this diversity of matter and spirit, there is in some
respects in Palestine a certain underlying uniformity which comes
to the surface where one least expects to find it. It would be
difficult, for example, to find three manifestations of human emotion
more different in meaning, in venue, in their participants, than the
Christian ceremony of the Holy Fire, which takes place in the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre on the Saturday before the Orthodox
Easter, in the Muslim festival of Nebi Musa at the supposed tomb
of Moses, near Jericho, and in the Jewish pilgrimage to Meiron,
in Galilee, about to be described. Yet the dense crowds of devotees
who dance and clap their hands on each of these occasions, who work
themselves up by rhythmical movement into a state of exaltation
and excitement in exactly the same way, shouting much the same
sort of topical verses to precisely the same chants, induce the
reflection about Palestine in those who have seen the three festivals :
“plus ga change plus c’est la mime chose” or, more briefly, more
ecclesiastically, “ semper eadem”
Meiron is situated in one of the most beautiful parts of Galilee,
on the lower slopes of Jebel Jermak, the highest mountain of Pales-
tine, and on the road recently constructed by the Palestine Govern-
1 Reprinted, with kind permission of the author and the publishers,
from The Near Bast and India, April 10th, 1930.
THE “GBEAT BURNINGS 55 OF MEIRON.
79
ment to connect the town of Safad with the Mediterranean at Acre.
Now Safad is famous in Jewry for the development of the form of
Jewish mysticism known as “ Kabbala,” which was brought to
this north Galilean town by Jews expelled from Spain and Portugal
at the end of the 15th century. Meiron, on the other hand, owes
its sanctity and its position as the most highly revered Jewish
place of pilgrimage in the country to the tombs of many of the
celebrated Rabbis who laboured in Upper Galilee in the first centuries
of the Christian era on the compilation of the “ Mishna” and the
Palestinian Talmud. The J e-wish Meiron (for there is an adjacent
small Arab village of the same name) is not a town or a village ; it
is a collection of these early rabbinical tombs (some of them in caves
and rock-chambers) which, with the ruins of a synagogue of the
second or third century a.t>., are grouped around two large buildings,
the one a modern Talmudic seminary and Aged Home for Ashkenazi
Jews, the other the enclosed synagogue which contains the tombs
of two of the most* distinguished of the Rabbis, Simon ben-Yechai
and his son Eleazar, and is the central attraction of pilgrimage.
The synagogue proper is situated within the inner of the two
courtyards which compose the sanctuary, the whole constituting a
combination of khan, that is, an establishment where men and
beasts may find shelter and accommodation, and of place of worship .
The bodies of the two Rabbis are understood to lie in an under-
ground cave or crypt, while on the floor of the synagogue are their
cenotaphs, each enclosed by railings. The tomb of a third worthy,
upon whose identity there is some doubt, stands in the outer court.
Corresponding to these on the flat roof of the buildings, are three
pedestals of stone, or, more correctly, low pillars supporting stone
basins, in which the “ great burnings — the culminating feature
of the annual pilgrimage to the tombs of the Rabbis — are made.
The pilgrimage, which attracts Jews from all over the world, takes
place on the festival called Lag Be’omer, namely, the 33rd of the
50 days which elapse between the Jewish Feasts of Passover and
Pentecost (the 50tli day). On this 33rd day the restrictive laws
which are in force during the remainder of the period are removed.
The prohibition against such things as getting married and the
cutting of hair are withdrawn ; and the day becomes one of relaxa-
tion and rejoicing, a sort of mi-Cai'eme. According to the Kahbalists
it is on Lag Boomer that Simeon har-Yechi died, and this day
so
THE “GBEAT BURNINGS 55 OE METEON.
has thus become the date of the festival at the shrine, of which
his tomb is the nucleus.
The ceremonies owe much of their weird, their almost unearthly
effect to the circumstance that they take place at night. At this
time of the year there is reasonable certainty of a clear starry sky,
against which the flares of the blazing pyres illuminate the stiff,
awkward gyrations of aged men in long robes, dancing around the
columns of fire to the accompaniment of hoarse chanting, stressed
by the clapping of hands on the part of the onlookers. In the
basins upon the three columns or pyres, which correspond to the
three tombs below, the pilgrims have placed their offerings for the
burnt sacrifice. The offerings consist mainly of garments such as
handkerchiefs, scarves and shawls (the latter often of considerable
value), which, when they have been nearly folded and stacked,
are soaked with inflammable oil. There is then auctioned by the
custodians of the shrine the right to apply the first match to the
pyres, and the successful competitors set alight their pyramids of
clothes to the accompaniment of shouts of rejoicing from the spec-
tators. Wizened and decrepit old men, whom one would have
supposed far too infirm for such exercises, now proceed to dance
round the pyres, and one is amazed to see how long they are able
to keep up the exertion, one marvels at the agility which they are
able to summon up, even though it be religious exaltation that
lends strength to their limbs. The excited crowd singing hoarsely
around one, filling every square inch of courtyards below and of
flat roofs above, the three pyres sending up their flickering columns
of fire and smoke, lighting up with intermittent flashes the wrinkled
faces of the bent and ringleted old men who are dancing around
them, at the back the outline of the mountain, dimly discernible
against the midnight sky, combined to form a picture of strange
unreality, in which the picturesque, the grotesque, and the pathetic
have their share. I was not surprised to overhear some American
Jews beside me remark, as they watched the capering and chanting
and clapping of their' Oriental co-religionists, that they could not
make out what it was all about.
One of the most interesting features of the festival of Meiron
is the number of its points of resemblance with that of the Holy
Fire of Jerusalem. Apart from the element of fire common to
both we find, first of all, the crowds of men and women of all ages
THE “ GREAT BURNINGS 99 OF MEIJtON.
81
and of little children, assembling at Meiron a day or two in advance
cooking, eating and sleeping in every available nook and corner
of the synagogue and the rooms and passages of the khan which
surrounds it, exactly as the pilgrims of the Eastern Churches camp
on the floor and in the galleries of the Holy Sepulchre, packed as
densely as sardines, in anticipation of the ceremony of the Holy
Fire. It was hardly possible to penetrate inside the synagogue
of Meiron or to make one’s way on to the roof without treading on
aged men and women and mothers suckling their young, so thick
was the mass of people who had managed to squeeze themselves
into the building. And as the Holy Sepulchre attracts in the
Holy Week of the Eastern Churches pilgrims of the most varied
races, Russians and other Slavs and Greeks from Europe, Arabs
and Armenians and Jacobites from Asia, Copts and Abyssinians
from Africa, so at Meiron, in addition to the Sephardim and Ash-
kenazim of Palestine, were gathered wizened little Yemenites from
the coast of Arabia, Jews from Bokhara and Samarkand dressed
with infinite pictmesqueness in the rich colours and stuffs of Central
Asia, Aramaic-speaking Jews from Kurdish villages where they
claim to have been settled by Sargon when he brought the ten tribes,
their ancestors, from captured Samaria, Jewish pilgrims from
Persia, Beni Israel from India. And what a variety of headgear
one saw as one watched from the roof the heads of the throng
below bobbing up and down or describing circles in the dance !
There were Homburg hats and boaters, there were caps both Western
and Russian, there were the fezzes of the Yemenites, there were
the black turbans of the Sephardim, there were the white and black
astrachan bonnets of the Central Asians, there were (a novelty
these) the new Persian kepis of field-blue imposed by Riza Shah
on his subjects as a contribution to that “ bowlerization ” (if I may
so term it) of the East that is now being enforced on their respective
subjects by the Duci of Hither Asia.
The similarity of the chanting, the identity of the chants, of
the devotees at the two functions have already been mentioned.
An even more remarkable parallel is afforded by the auctioning of the
right to light the pyre ; for at the Holy Fire the highly prized privilege
to be the first lay Copt and Jacobite to receive the fire from the
Patriarch, as he emerges from the “edicule” of the Holy Sepulchre,
is put up to auction among the pilgrims of these communities.
82
THE “GREAT BURNINGS 55 OP MEIRON.
Meanwhile, inside the synagogue below, Jews in small groups
of twos and threes were going up to the cenotaphs of the two Rabbis
to pray and weep with their heads against the palls as they do
against the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. I was taken into an inner
chamber lined with low divans, on which sat a score or so of aged
Sephardic Rabbis, very striking in their white robes and black silk
turbans. These proceeded to offer up prayers for the health of
His Majesty the King and, as they stood in a circle for this purpose,
they made a picture which Rembrandt would have rejoiced to paint.
As the hour of dawn draws near the ecstasy of the pilgrims
begins gradually to abate, there takes place a little ceremony which,
insignificant in itself, yet serves to link the proceedings of to-day
with those of a remote and even sinister past. The children present
are led to the pyres, a little of their hair is snipped oh ; and the
locks are solemnly placed on the embers to be consumed by the
now dying flame. Anthropologists trace a connection between the
burnings of Meiron and the “great burnings 55 for dead Jewish
Kings described in the Old Testament, and between the “ great
burnings / 5 again, and the terrible offerings of the first-born children
to Moloch the King in the Valley of Hinnom. The desire at present
uppermost in the minds of the authorities of Meiron is for telephonic
connection with Safad, a desire that bridges the centuries in a manner
with which all who know the Holy Land are familiar. Moloch and
a trunk-line telephone- — such juxtapositions are of everyday occur-
rence in what Herzl denominated the “ Old-New Land 55 or Palestine . 1
1 For another account of the same Jewish feast, see Q.S. 1919, p. 112-117.
GLEANINGS FROM THE JUDAEO-GREEK CEMETERY,
JAFFA.
By Dr. E. L. Sukenik, Jerusalem,
In the course of his archaeological researches, conducted on
behalf of the Palestine Exploration Fund, Clermont-Ganneau,
about sixty years ago discovered the first tituli of' the Judaeo-
Greek cemetery in the vicinity of Jaffa. 1 Subsequently, a great
many more were discovered and likewise published in the Quarterly
Statements by its learned contributors. I am glad of the oppor-
tunity to add to their number two others hidden for many years in
the collection of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission, Jerusalem. 2 3 *
Titnlas No. L — A slab of marble, dimensions 23 by 26 cms.,
4 cms. thick ; four lines of text, average height of letters 26 mms.
(Plate I).
1. ©€OAWPOY
2. HCYXIOY
3- KPIAAOY
4. Palm-branch palm-branch 5
Swpo? corresponding to the Hebrew or
etc., is often met with in Jewish texts. ‘Houryto? although common
in the non- Jewish onomasticon, appears — to the best of my know-
ledge — for the first time in the Jewish epigraphy of Palestine. The
name K vptXkos is known from another Jaffa-titulus A Of
particular interest is the shape of the letters of the last word
which gives it the character of a monogram (Plate I). This graceful
1 Q.S. , 1874. Letters from M. Clermont-Ganneau, Ramleb, November
bth, 1873, p. 3 ; Jerusalem , November 12th, 1873, p. 5.
2 I wish to express my gratitude to the authorities of the Russian Eccles-
iastical Mission for their kind permission to study and eventually publish these
inscriptions.
3 The provenance of the slab is indicated on a slip of paper glued to the
back of the stone with the following note in Russian : u This slab was found
during excavations at Jaffa. 5 ’ The remainder of this label, now eaten away
by insects, probably contained the date of the discovery as on the second
titulus.
^ M vrjua Kt iplWov teal , AXe£«i'Sposr WAe^avbperov. Euting,
cc Epigraphische Miszellen,” 8 itzu ngsberichte dnr Akademie tier W Usensefiaften,
Berlin, XXXV (1885), No. 53.
84 CLEANINGS FROM THE JTJDAEO- GREEK CEMETERY, JAEEA.
combination stands in a class by itself, when compared with the
monograms met with later in Jewish epigraphy.
Tilulus No. 2. — A slab of marble, dimensions 23 by 23 eras.,
2 cms. thick ; four lines of text, average height of letters 24 mms.
(Plate II).
1. MNHMH Me
2. NIAMI KAI
3. C*PA HPH
4 HN
Below the text two palm-branches. 5
Nlvrj/Jbr) M evLCLfM teal Xdpa rjprjvrj.
Memorial to Meniamin and Sara. Peace.
M evLapbtv obviously stands for B evict jiLv ; it occurs three
times in the Bible (2 Chron, xxi, 15, Nek. xii, 17, 41), and often in
the Talmudic literature. The name Xdpa common in the Diaspora 6
appears for the first time in an ancient Jewish inscription in Pales-
tine. The spelling of rjpjjvrj is one more instance of the tran-
sition
5 There is a note in Russian on the back of this slab too : “ This slab was
found during excavations at Jaffa, in the year Unfortunately, only
the unit is legible, the rest being eaten away by insects. It would be futile
to suggest a date, the last possible year is 1 907.
6 Muller, Die judischen Katalcombe am Monteverde zu Rom , p. 102 ; Muller -
Bees, Die Inscliriften der jiidisohen Katalcombe ; etc.. No. 48.
85
A NAZARETH INSCRIPTION ON THE VIOLATION OF
TOMBS.
By S. A. Cook, Litt.D.
Considerable interest has been aroused by the recent publication
of a Greek inscription, said to have come from Nazareth, relating
to the violation of tombs. It was preserved in the collection
Froehner (since 1878), and is now in the Cabinet des Medaiiles,
where Rostovtzeff recently drew the attention to it of Cumont, who
published an account of it in Rev. Historique , clxiii (1930), 241-266. 1
Froehner, we are told, was wont to keep his treasures unedited,
but there is no reason to doubt the genuineness of the marble slab
(roughly 24 X 15 inches), which is the subject of this note. 2 The
inscription is legible and simple : —
(1) A cdray/ia K akcrapos (2) * Apecncec /hoc rdyovs rvvfiovs
(3) re, o'trcves €t9 6pr f crfceLav irpoydvm* (4) irrocrjaav rj
Tefcvcov fj oltce'uov , (5) tovtovs fievecv auera/cecvy/rovs
(6) tov atcova • idv Sk tc$ €7rtB(e)c^]] rt(7)va i)
KaraXeXvfcoTa r) dXXeo nvl (8) rpoircp rob? /ce/crjBevpckvovq
(9) e^eppctpyoTcc rj els erepovs (10) tottov^ BcdXqy i rovrjpco
pce{l\)raredeuc<ira err dBctcca rfj rd)v fcefatSevjnivcov rj
tcaroyovs rj Xi(12)9ov$ fjceraredeLfcora , teard tov
(13) tocovtov (cpiTifpLOv eycb fceXevay (15) yeueadac KaOdirep
7 repl de&v (16) e[t]? ra9 rant dvdpooircdv 9prjcr(\l)H:[e]La 9 .
7roXu yap / idXXov Beijcrec (18) T 009 fcefCijBev/ikvov^ recpcdv.
(19) icaOoXov pcrjBevl i^earco pcera (20) fceivrjcrcu. el Be
pci], tovtov eyed / re (2 1 ) 90X379 KwrtucpiTov ovo/ian
(22) Tup,/3a)pu^ta9 8kXoo yevkadcu .
This may be translated (mainly following Prof. Brown and M.
Tonneau) : —
£i Imperial Decree : it is my decision that tombs and
graves which have been made for the cult of ancestors or
1 See also Ed. Cuq, Bei\ Hist, de Droit , 1930, pp. 3S3-4I0 ; Abel, Etc.
Biblique, 1930, p. 567 ft*, (with a note by Lagrange) ; L. Wenger, in the ZeiU
■sehriftd. Bavigny-Stiftung fiir Rechtsgeschichie., li (Bom. Alt. 1 931 ),pp. 369-397 ;
F. E. Brown, American Jouru . of Philology , lii, 1-29 ; and R. Tonneau, Bet).
Biblique , 1931, pp. 544-564. I have not seen the articles by Corradi (II Monilo
Classico, i, 56-65) or Carcopino (on which see Tonneau, p. 563).
2 Among Froehner’s papers at Heidelberg are two leaves relating to a
magical stone which he copied in Nazareth in 1869.
86 A NAZARETH INSCRIPTION ON THE VIOLATION OF TOMBS.
children or relatives, that these remain undisturbed for ever.
If then anyone lays information that some one has destroyed
them or in some way or other has exhumed (Tonneau : a
rejete) the corpses, or has malevolently transf erred the body
to others places to the prejudice of the corpses (Tonneau :
avec V intention de les outrager) or has displaced inscriptions or
stones, I ordain that against such an one there should be a
trial just as in respect of the cult of mortals as in respect of
that of the gods. For much more should one honour the
dead. Altogether, then, let no one be permitted to change
their place (or de troubler le repos des defunts). Otherwise,
it is my will that the offender undergo capital punishment
for the violation of graves.”
The writing is of the beginning of the Christian era ; so Abel
(p. 567), who compares the inscription of Theodotion, though Brown
argues for the second century, a.d., when sepulehri violatio found a
place in the criminal statutes. The bad style of the Greek points
to a Latin original, e.g., capitis damnatio , 11. 20-21), and the term
diatagma, which in Babbinieal Hebrew is used of an edict or ordin-
ance, has suggested to Abel (p. 569 n.) that the translator was
perhaps a Jew rather than some Hellenised Syrian. It is disputed
whether the first part of the incription is a legal enactment, and the
second a sort of post-script on the illicit removal of a corpse, but
it is certainly precarious to associate it with a particular incident,
as though it bore directly upon Matthew xxviii, 11-15 (Brown, p. 10).
Brown argues that Nazareth lay somewhat outside Boman control
as regards laws dealing with tombs, but it may be questioned
whether the evidence is so decisively against a first century date
as he is inclined to argue. It is to be noticed that there is no special
Latin equivalent for Tv/jLft(opvxict, and that the application of
Karlov is doubtful, whether they are stones put to block the
graves (see Wenger, p. 390/.) or serve a more general purpose, in
which case the care taken to preserve inscribed stones find analogies
elsewhere. 3 The meaning of icaBdnrep i repl 9em> is likewise
uncertain, and it is not quite clear whether the violation of tombs
3 Dussaud {Syria, xi, 307) equates the Icatochos with the nephesh or funerary
stele of the Semites, which contained (/caxeyto) “ Fume vegetative du
morfc.”
A NAZABETH INSCRIPTION ON THE VIOLATION OP TOMBS. 87
is compared to an offence against the gods or one against the divine
emperors .
The most recent study, hv Tonneau, takes into account the
earlier literature. He observes that the tvv/3o<; is the entire
sepulchre (as distinct from the rctcpos, the part actually containing
the bones). dpr/afceia is the usual religio , the cult of the gods
and the divinised dead. He argues, on epigraphical and other
grounds, for a date in the reign of Augustus, more precisely towards
the beginning of the Christian era. He finds it rather strange that
an inscription from Nazareth should be in Greek — one would expect
Aramaic — and he gives reasons for thinking that it is much more
likely that it came from the old Hellenistic town of Sepphoris.
It was destroyed by Varus and restored by Herod Agrippa ; it was
the capital of the tetrachy of Antipas, and with this agrees the
suggested date. Moreover, the recent Franciscan excavations at
Nazareth have brought to light miscellaneous fragments of stone
architecture brought from Sepphoris, scarcely 8 kilometres distant,
and it is not improbable that this stone came from the cemetery of
that place.
M. Tonneau entirely rejects the suggestion that the Imperial
Rescript has anything to do with an alleged removal of the body of
Jesus (p. 556 n.), though the Rescript may well have been known to
the Apostles. He takes up the question of the twofold division of
the inscription, but lays most stress upon the force of yap in 1. 17 :
il faudra en effet respecter beaucoup plus les corps ensevelis. 55 It
is a new decision, and the point of the inscription is : ce n’est pas
toute exhumation quelle qu’elle soit, qui est punie si severement,
il y a place pour la bonne foi : e'est seulement Tentreprise des
detrousseurs de cadavres.”
88
“THE FOUNDATIONS OF BIBLE HISTORY.”
By S. A. Cook, Litt.D.
Everybody knows that there are serious differences of opinion
touching the value of the Biblical narratives relating to Pre-Davidic
Israel ; and the opinion is gaining ground that only contemporary
archeology and the monuments can solve the extraordinarily
complicated problems that they bring. Hence the appearance of
Prof. Garstang’s new book has been awaited with more than ordinary
interest. 1 His long experience in the field of archaeology, and his
excellent first-hand knowledge of Palestine, as also his admirable
work in Hittite antiquities, led one to expect a volume of Unusua]
value ; and now that it has been read and digested, and everywhere
favourably received, Prof. Garstang is to be congratulated upon one
of the most arresting of recent books on the Old Testament. Apart
from its varied features of interest, it at once attracts attention
because its author states his conclusion that the older literary
sources of the books of Joshua and Judges are substantially accurate :
“ no radical flaw was found at all in the topography and archaeology
.of these documents”; the familiar perplexing chronological difficul-
ties can be removed, and, with the help of the Egyptian records and
monuments, it is possible to give “ a straightforward and fairly
continuous account of the sequence of events ” in the history of
Early Israel.
The volume is fittingly dedicated to Sir Charles Marston, whose
interest in Biblical study and generous support of Palestinian
excavation rendered possible much of Prof. Garstang’ s work. It
comprises a translation of the older Biblical sources 2 , detailed dis-
cussions of the topography and historicity of Joshua’s campaigns,
the subsequent settlement of the tribes, and the period of the
Judges. Full chronological tables elucidate the course of events,
and an extremely valuable appendix (pp. 352-404) provides a list of
Biblical cities with concise statements of their history, notes on
their excavation and archaeology (where available), and a
1 The Foundations of Biblical History : Joshua, Judges, By John Garstang.
Constable, 1931.
2 That is, on the basis of Biblical criticism, the sources distinguished as J
(Jehovist or Yahwist ; Judaean), and E (Elohist ; Ephraimite).
89
THE FOUNDATIONS OF BIBLE HISTORY."
dozen plans of sites. There are, in addition, 73 fine plates (most of
them with a couple of photographs), 14 figures in the text and 19
maps. Regarded as a whole, the volume is original in conception,
conscientious in its workmanship, and as fascinating for its illustra-
tions as it is invaluable for deeper study of its subject. While it
invites comparison with Prof. Sir George Adam Smith’s Historical
Geography of the Holy Land* it has not, to be sure, the same scope
or plan ; but no one would willingly study the topography of
Palestine or visit the land without both. Some slight idea of the
author’s thoroughness, and of his desire to make ancient history
“ live,” may be gained when we observe his statement that the
strategical importance of Beisan (Beth-Shan) is to be seen in the
fact that it still serves to check raids from across the Jordan (p. 317),
and that during the Great War experience showed how a quarter of
an hour’s rain on the clayey "soil by the “ waters of Megiddo ”
endangered the issue of all cavalry manoeuvres, and thus threw light
upon Sisera’s defeat (p. 298 f).
The picturesque frontispiece, ££ The Hornet (Josh, xxiv, 12),”
with its symbolical groups of Pharaohs who overran Palestine,
strikes the keynote of the volume. For the distinctive feature of
the whole argument is that, not merely is the £C hornet ” which
prepared the way for Israel a perfectly intelligible allusion to Egypt —
this is a familiar view 4 — but that, when the Biblical chronology has
been duly adjusted, it can be shown that Egyptian intervention
removed obstacles in the way of the Israelite tribes (p. 260), and
Israel’s alternating periods of oppression and deliverance, as set
forth in the Book of Judges, correspond in a most unexpected
manner to the periods of Egyptian apathy or weakness and of
Egyptian strength and military activity. 5 It is along such lines
that Prof. Garstang considers that Biblical history can be rehabili-
tated and proved to be of much greater value than is commonly
admitted by modern writers.
5 The name is given in unusual forms on pp. 102 n, 107 n, 317 n. Equally
slight corrections are needed in the names on pp. 7, 1. 8 (G for S), 321 n, 1, 1. 5
(o for o), and the spellings on pp. 245, 1. 31 (read Goyim), 265 foot (read
shophd),
4 See Encyc . Biblica , s,r. “ Hornet ” ; also E. W. Hollingworth, Proc . of
Society of JBibU Arch „ xxxiii (1911) 50, ef. Mr. Trumper’s view, below, p. 98.
Goodrich on Wisdom, xli, 8, cites eases of peoples driven out by wasps (cf. also
Herod., iv, 1-5, the Neuri driven out by serpents).
5 So to a certain extent, already, Hollingworth, Z.c., pp. 40-50.
a
90
<c THE FOUNDATIONS OF BIBLE HISTORY.”
It may, perhaps, be not a little disconcerting to some readers
to find that Egypt and the Fax Aegyptiaea have this meaning for
Israel, and that the removal of Egyptian forces left the newly-
entered tribes exposed to the foe, even as the withdrawal of the
Roman legions, too, brought disaster to the early Britons (p. 114,
cf. pp. 62, 260). In any case, it is really difficult to peruse the books
of Joshua and Judges and realise the part then being played by
Egyptians, Hittites and others, in the history of Palestine : one
may compare the failure of the books of Kings and Chronicles to
refer to the sweeping Assyrian movements in and about the age of
Ahab and Jehu, of Elijah and Elisha. Prof. Garstang’s conception
of the history implies that Israel forgot (or wished to forget) its debt
to Egypt, and that its religious “ philosophy of history, 55 of periods of
apostacy and penitence, is therefore secondary and unhistorical. And
if this be so, we can at once form a preliminary estimate of the trust-
worthiness of even the oldest Biblical narratives.
Prof, Garstang is in good company when he holds that the oldest
source (styled J.) is of the ninth century : he even finds it difficult
to believe that its constituent elements had not been written earlier
(p. 341). For my part, I consider J. in its * present form , to be very
much later, and I am much more struck by the gulf between the
Biblical narratives and contemporary evidence than by the admitted
points of contact. His “ reconstruction 55 of the history is found
to demand its price — like every other “ reconstruction 55 ; and readers
who are attracted by his reinterpretation of events will observe
that he does not take us back to the literal authenticity of the narra-
tives. Thus, he perceives that much of the old history has been lost,
and our scanty traditions are often local or tribal, and not national
(pp. 238, 275-277). When, for example, he suggests — in agreement
with Petrie 6 — that the number of the Israelites was relatively small
(pp. 120 f, 152) : the word for “ thousand 55 meaning really “ group 55
or 45 clan, 55 it is easy to see how far the whole tradition of Exodus and
Conquest is affected, and not merely a few figures here and there. 7
Or again, when we observe that the story of the deliverance of Israel
6 McNeile, to whom reference is made on p. 120 note, expressly rejects Petrie’s
suggestion.
7 Certain old data do, indeed, point to an “Israel” rather restricted in
numbers, and also to a relatively short sojourn in Egypt; but they reflect a
tradition that is by no means to be identified with the canonical tradition,
which alone impresses the ordinary reader.
91
"THE FOUNDATION S OF BIBLE HISTOBY.”
by Ehud is properly a “ local 55 one (cf. p. 275), tlie interpretation of
tlie history of the te judges 99 is complicated : how far, in fact, was
there really, at that time, a united Israel 1 The story of Othniel,
for example, is interpreted (pp. 264 If) as based upon the tradition
of a local struggle in the south with that of the conquest of all
Palestine by the Hatti (Hittite) king of the north (with a possible
oppression of all Palestine). Or, again, when the Beth elite went
to "the land of the Hittites 55 (Judg. i, 22-26), we have to remember
that, by the side of archaeological evidence which would suggest
that the Hatti (Hittite) empire of Asia Minor dominated Palestine
for a brief period, is the probability that the Biblical writer has in
view the later situation when, after the overthrow of this old empire,
" Hittites 55 are to be traced on the south sides of the Taurus (cf.
p. 226 f).
In general we shall understand Prof. Garstang’s task better if
we recall that the Book of Chronicles contains, as we know from
Samuel — Kings, much that is old by the side of much that is novel,
late and untrustworthy — and the same can be said of the very late
Book of Jubilees compared with Genesis. Whatever may prove to
be the character of the oldest sources in Joshua- Judges, and of the
later and relatively less valuable sources, no one has ever doubted
— least of all the present writer — that there is much that is really
authentic. But where opinions differ is as regards the extent of the
old and valuable material that can be recovered.
The starting point of the new ce Foundations of Biblical History 59
is the date of the Exodus, which, working back from the 480 years
of 1 Kings vi., is placed at 1447 b.c. The familiar view that the
Exodus took place after the construction of Pit-horn and Ramses
(Exod. i. 11) in the reign of Ramses II, is now out of favour (p. 282).
But though this later date is said to be “ ill-founded/ 9 after all it
was a bona-fide effort to use the Biblical evidence. We are, however,
told that " a number of Israelites 95 might have been carried off
prisoners to Egypt about that time (p. 281) ; and it should be borne
in mind that some scholars attempt to solve the problem of the
Exodus by the theory that there were two distinct " exodi." At
all events, it is disconcerting if the evidently plain statement in
Exod. i, 11 is unreliable ; it throws doubt upon other data, appar-
ently reliable but as yet isolated and without any archaeological or
other confirmation. Scholars who are endeavouring to recover the
1)2 ‘'THE FOUNDATIONS OF BIBLE HISTOKY.”
course of Pre-Davidic Israel find themselves obliged to frame
theories that shall, as far as possible, justify the main biblical evi-
dence, and the problems of the Exodus and Conquest are such that
to the present writer, at least, a satisfactory reconstruction seems
impossible. It is especially precarious, in his opinion, to lay much
weight upon the (late) chronological scheme.
However that may be, Joshua’s invasion of Canaan is placed
forty years after the Exodus, i.e., about 1407 b.c. (pp. 55, 66, 115).
There is good archeological evidence for the destruction of Jericho,
Ai, Kirjath-Sepher and Hazor about this period (cf. pp. 54, 213),
although some catastrophe befell Jericho earlier, about 1600 (pp.
130, 145 ff.). Moreover there are signs of earthquake at Jericho
(Plate xxvi), and we are reminded both of the mishap to the Jordan
(Josh, iii, 16) and the imagery of Judges v, 4 (p. 138). But the
account of the overthrow of Jericho is in no wise taken an pied d6
lettre ; and as it is placed on archaeological grounds well before the
Iron Age (pp. 147, 387f), it might have been pointed out that the
narrative refers to the seizure of vessels of iron (Josh, vi, 24),
obviously one of the — how many ? — later elements in the tradition. 8
Moreover, the fact that the chariots of iron were always regarded
as so important a factor in the resistance of the Canaanites (cf.
p. 88 top) surely points equally, to the relatively later atmosphere
of the traditions of the invasion. 9
Joshua’s fights in the south and north of Palestine, as described
iu the older sources, are skilfully worked out. We note in passing
that Tell el-Hesi is nowadays identified with Eglon, Lachish being
found at Tell ed-Duweir (p. 173). Hazor has been identified by
Prof. Garstang with Tell el~Kedah near the foot of Lake Huleh ;
on examination it seems to have suffered destruction “ about this
date 99 (pp. 197, 383), and a reference to this is very ingeniously
found in the Amarna Letters. 10 Joshua’s last years, it is held,
overlap with the Amarna Letters and their accounts of the invasion
8 Just as the narrative represents “Iron Age ” conditions, so, also, it seems
to the present writer that the general religious ideas, too, are by no means Pre~
Davidic, but more probably are after the great reforming prophets.
9 Cf. also the criticisms of so conservative a writer as Prof. Kyle, Bibliotheca
Sacra , Jan. 1932, p. 113, and his remarks on the capture of Debir (Beit Mirsim)
by Othniel in the Iron Age.
10 P. 186 : “ Let my lord the king recall all that Hazor and its king have
already had to endure ” (Knudtzon, No. 227).
THE FOUNDATIONS OF BIBLE HISTOBY.”
93
((
of the SA.GAZ or Habiru, 11 and perhaps the most novel feature of the
volume is Prof, Garstang’s view that to the later period, about a
generation after the Israelite invasion, the period illustrated by
some at least of the Letters, and contemporary with the death of
Joshua, belong the passages in Joshua and in Judges, chap, i, which
reflect independent movements of individual tribes (p. 255, &c.).
This theory of two distinct series of events : (a) The original
invasion of Palestine under Joshua, and (b) the Habiru invasion and
various independent Israelite movements associated (and readily
confused) therewith, is supplemented by the further not less novel
view that the later and “ Deuteronomic 5S expansion of the older
sources of the book of Joshua, (which refer to the earlier event [a]),
may preserve a memory of the later events with which the Amarna
Letters deal (6). Such a treatment of the Biblical sources has its
risks, if only because, on general grounds, early narratives will often
contain unhistorical elements, and later ones elements of great-
historical worth. It is this principle which makes the present-
writer not a little dubious as to the legitimacy of Prof. Garstang’s
methods. The many difficult problems that arise, however, are too
complicated for discussion here. It must suffice to remark that
Prof. Garstang, in his treatment of the movements in Judah and
South Palestine by Caleb and others, does not accept the well-sup-
ported theory of a movement of tribes from the Kadesh district
northwards, one independent of that of the tribes who entered
Palestine under Joshua from across the Jordan. He treats the
capture of Hormah in Judges i f , 17 as an avenging of the defeat in
Num. xiv, 45 (p. 216), and appears to ignore the important victory
of Israel in the region of Hormah (Hum. xxi, 1-3), and at the very
gates of the Promised Land, an event of unusual significance for
all attempts to write the history of the Exodus and the Invasion. 12
Furthermore, the clan Caleb drove the sons of Anak out of
Hebron (Josh, xv, 14), and this name Anak is, it would seem, to be
11 Pp. 202, 254. As difficulty is caused by the evidence for estimating Joshua’s
age. Prof. Garstang has to treat as misplaced, and as a gloss Exod. xxxiii, 11
(p. 202 n.), which is really part of a passage of r-rr^.-.r - r . In Exod. xvii,
8-16, Joshua appears as a seasoned warrior, ■ i : - ■>; !■■■■ >uld be warned
that, on a variety of grounds, Biblical critics would refer the incident to a later
context in the story of the Exodus.
12 His point that “going up ” in Judg. i, applies to a journey from Jericho,
and not to one from, say, Beersheba (p. 215), surely overlooks the phraseology of
Num xiii, 17, xiv, 42. etc.
u
“THE FOUNDATIONS OF BIBLE HISTOBY.”
identified with. Iy’nq mentioned on an Egyptian list of about 2000
b.c. 13 . But we also have other Biblical evidence for these “ giants 55 :
they were encountered by the Spies in South Palestine (Num. xiii,
28, 33), traces of them survive in the stories of David’s fights (2 Sam.
xxi, xxiii), and the late “ Deuteronomic ” source speaks of them as
pretty widely distributed (Josh, xi, 21) 14 . It is a matter of dispute
whether these passages, which are both early and late, and are
obviously not unrelated to one another, refer to actual giants, or
whether certain narratives or traditions believed that the invading
Israelites had to contend against primitive inhabitants of this type.
At all events, here and elsewhere it is unsafe to draw too strict a
line between the earlier and the later references, and we may prob-
ably recognise what may be called for the nonce an “ Anakite 59
tradition. It was clearly a pretty extensive one, and it would be
the task of Biblical criticism to examine this tradition along with
the other traditions which are more familiar to us — because they
tended to oust out the others — before attempting to “ reconstruct 55
the course of events.
Leaving these intricate matters we can only say that if we are
to follow Prof. Garstang and combine the accounts of the move-
ments in the Amarna Letters with the Biblical history in particular
as regards the position of Israel in Central Palestine, we cannot fail
to be impressed, once more, by the gulf between our contemporary
records and even the earliest written sources. 15 Yet many may feel
that Prof. Garstang makes out a good case. Observe, for example,
the skilful association of the campaigns of Seti I in Palestine (from
the South northwards) with the Moabite oppression from which
Ehud freed Israel (pp. 270, 341). And if Shamgar ben Anath, who
defeated the Philistines, is really the important sea-captain Ben
Anath whose daughter was married to a son of Eamses II (p. 2871).
how tempting it is to suppose that the protective arm of Egypt and
Ben Anath warded off a Philistine invasion, and that stirring events
lie behind the scanty and tantalising allusions to Shamgar ! As
for the Philistines themselves, they are akin to Homer’s Achaean
13 P. 209 n. s cf. Q.S., 1928, p. 218.
14 A remnant of the Anakim (at Ashdod or Ekron ?) is referred to in
Jer. xlvii, 5 (Septuagint version — see the Commentaries)*
15 Pp. 228, 253, 257. Similarly if, as several scholars agree, the Patriarchal
narratives reflect the movements of the Hyksos, the gulf is not less conspicuous.
95
“THE FOUNDATIONS OF BIBLE HISTORY.”
warriors (p. 314), aud in course of time may have been employed by
Egypt to keep order in Palestine (p. 330 f.). Their existence prob-
ably depended upon their intermarriage with the native peoples of
the Plain (p. 338) — and although Prof Garstang does not mention it,
to such JSgean influences may perhaps be due one of the character-
istics of the Jewish racial type. 16
Enough has been said to show how ingeniously Prof. Garstang
has used external and contemporary evidence, and in so doing has
placed problems of Pre-Davidic Palestine in a new light. The
days of Palestine’s great and powerful cities are over (cf. pp. 165,
184) ; we are at an age of profound changes. It was the u heroic
age,” and such was the turmoil and pressure of events that it would
be easy for later traditions to become fused and confused. Should
we feel that Prof. Garstang has not given us a clear outline of the
events it may well be that amid rebellions, intrigues and conflicting
policies a consistent outline can neither be expected nor attempted.
In any case, it is difficult not to assume that Hittites, Mitannians
and Amorites, and perhaps even iEgeans, played a much more
important part in shaping the history of Palestine than is recognised.
Also as regards Israel itself, it is exceedingly difficult to form a
clear idea of the fortunes, whether of a large Israelite confederation —
where there is the question whether it did or did not include Judah —
or of the smaller constituent groups. Much history has admittedly
been lost, and for this reason alone it is unsafe to build upon the
** argument from silence,” as, for example, the absence of Judah in
some conspicuous cases (pp. 305, 340), or of the Philistines (p. 324).
Though much in this volume is highly speculative, this is unavoid-
able ; speculation is both legitimate and imperative, if Pre-Davidic
Israel is not to be a closed book, and speculation enters more largely
into even the most ce conservative 55 of modern histories than is
usually realised.
The question at issue is, which “ reconstruction ” best answers
the facts, best explains the variant and conflicting data of the Old
Testament. On the one hand, the present writer considers that
Prof. Garstang has undertaken a hopeless task — that no satisfactory
ee reconstruction ” is possible until more direct contemporary
material comes to light. Paradoxical though it may seem, the
16 See N. Redcliffe Salaman, Q.S., 1925, Jan. and April (“ What has become
of the Philistines ?
96
“THE FOimi>ATIONS OF BIBLE HISTORY/'
more successfully the Biblical narratives seem to be fitted into tlie
framework of archaeology and the monuments, the more clearly
do they appear to be but faint echoes of an almost forgotten past.
On the other hand, most archaeologists and biblical scholars believe
that a <c reconstruction 55 can and should be attempted, and one,
indeed, more or less on the general lines of the books of Joshua-
Judges. Certainly there are many who would assert that any
working hypothesis is better than none at all ! It would be idle to
probe into the future, and yet the amount of archaeological research
now being undertaken, the variety of sites explored, even the
mere probability ” of crucial discoveries being made sooner or later,
not to mention a seemingly irrational “ chance ” that brings things
to light just in the fulness of time — all this combines to make one
believe that a new era in Biblical Research is opening out. So,
while the present writer finds, as in Livy’s account of early Rome, or
in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s edifying story of Britain, a fusion of
good material with much that is untrustworthy, opinion will in the
meanwhile differ as to whether we are to regard Joshua- Judges as
untrustworthy, though with much that is authentic, or as trust-
worthy, though with much that is unhistorical. Time will show
which side the balance will lie ; but even now archaeology — in the
present writer’s opinion — already justifies the former estimate as
the more cautious, especially when the archaeological evidence for
the early religion is taken into consideration . 17
In any event, it is extremely helpful to have such a volume as
this one, wherein is set forth what, in the opinion of a competent
archaeologist, is the best case that can be made for establishing a
view of the c< Foundations of Bible History,” that adheres more
closely to the Biblical sources than do the views of more sceptical
writers like myself. Besides, there is in the volume so much of real
value, that continued difference of opinion as to its “ reconstruction 99
of history, or some subsequent discovery that this or the other
view therein is untenable, will not lessen one’s appreciation of
Prof. Garstang’s painstaking labours.
17 The aim of the writer’s Religion of Ancient Palestine, in the Light of Arches-
ology was primarily to consider the significance of the data entirely apart from
his own or other writers’ views as to Biblical criticism (p. 1), and the result
was to show how widely, both in religion and in history, the written records
are separated from contemporary evidence but, more particularly, to place
our familiar problems upon an entirely new footing.
97
REVIEWS AND NOTICES.
Seventy Years in Archaeology. By Sir Blinders Petrie, D.C.L.,
Litt.D., F.R.S., &c. Sampson Low, n.d.
It would be difficult, if not impossible, to lay one’s linger upon
a man whose career as an archaeologist, whose versatility and
whose flair for discovery have so aroused the interest alike of student
and layman as the veteran author of this autobiography. Sir
Blinders Petrie has lived through the most remarkable events in
the unearthing of past history, such that this fact and his own
contribution to them, make this volume of reminiscences attractive
from many different points of view. In a plain, straightforward
and distinctly lively account he tells of his struggles and achieve-
ments, the rebuffs he has received, the numerous and frequently
unnecessary difficulties against which he had to contend, and the
long list of successes which crowned his endeavours.
The book is one to read rather than to review, and it is so full
of incident and observation, of valuable hints and timely warnings,
all the fruit of unique experience, that the reader picks up, almost
insensibly, much that is of practical value for the young archseologist
along with much that is more distinctly of personal interest. So
we have the red-letter day when the name ££ Israel ” was discovered
on the stela of Merenptah (p. 160), and we learn of the nature of
Egyptian justice, or rather the absence of it (p. 186). Or we are
informed how the perils of discovery are by no means over when
things reach a museum, as ££ thing after thing has been spoilt, lost,
or thrown away after it seemed safely housed.” Anecdotes abound,
and one of them shall here be quoted. It is that of the foreign
missionary who, instructed by his English wife, to put on a clean
shirt every day when in society, returned a week later, saying
triumphantly, £< I have got dem all on.” And, proceeds Sir Flinders
C£ thus religions are overlaid, the last is the one that is seen, but
the first is still next to the skin all the time 55 (p. 114).
The book is well illustrated ; we have, e.g., the models found at
Memphis of foreign heads, from Spain, or Sardinia, to India (p. 213f.),
the art at Amarna, the oldest siege-scene, a winged sun-boat, etc.,
etc. We note also as regards the script from Serabit in the Sinaitie
REVIEWS AND NOTICES.
peninsula that the author now considers that it is not a precursor
of the Phoenician — “ It is merely a local barbarism. All the wild
theories of Grimm (sic) about it depends on his adoption of the
natural cracks in the stone as being engraved signs. 351
Sir Flinders ends on an optimistic note : — “ More students
than ever before are wishing to enter the field, and those who join
are of the most promising class for the future. The whole machinery
of research has never been so well developed, and the only hindrance
is insufficiency of means, for in the absence of any Government help
the progress of researches depends entirely on the public. I trust
that my experience of fifty years may still be utilised to the full in
such time as may yet remain for action. 35 We re-echo this hope that
the author may be spared to do yet more field work, and we thank
him for an inspiriting and inspiring book, which is calculated to fire
one with the romance of archaeology and arouse the younger genera-
tion to carry on the labours in a field in which the author will always
stands out as a most conspicuous and successful worker.
The Mirror of Egypt in the Old Testament . By Lieut. -Commander
Victor L. Trumper, R.N.R. Marshall, Morgan & Scott, n.d.
Twenty years in Egypt have enabled Mr. Trumper to collect a
store of facts and incidents which tend to throw light upon the
Bible. These he has now published in a handy volume which
provides in popular and readable form material for teachers and
speakers. Passages are printed (in the B.V.) with explanatory
notes, there are excurses, and the like, and the needs of the ordinary,
intelligent laymen are kept in view throughout. The aim has been,
he says, to go between the Scylla of facts duly presented and the
Charybdis of homiletic declamation. There are various interesting
illustrations, including one of the “ hornet, 35 the Biblical passages
(Josh, xxiv, 12, &c.) being explained as an allusion to the royal
power of Lower Egypt (p. 137). 2 The notes cover such topics as
amulets, ceremonial, the plagues, mumification, and one of special
value on the watering-places in the wilderness of Sinai (pp. 133ff).
Among points of interest we note the suggestion that Potiphar was a
eunuch (whence the conduct of his wife, p. 23), that the cry abrek
ip. 195/. Grimm is a misprint for Grimme ; so also “necef” is for
“ne^ef ” (p. 211).
2 Cf. p. 89 above on Prof. Garstang’s book.
REVIEWS AND NOTICES,
99
indicated the readiness of the multitude to kneel before Joseph
(p. 401), the pathological explanation of the “ hardening ” of
Pharaoh's heart (p. 120), and the conviction that the exodus is to
be placed at a later rather than the earlier date, viz., in the time of
Merenptah (p. 146f). 1 We regret that the book does not bear its
date on the title page.
Pentateuch and Haftorahs (Lessons from the Prophets). Edited by
the Chief Rabbi, i. Genesis, 1929 ; ii, Exodus, 1930. Oxford
University Press.
Dr. Herz will receive the thanks of Jews and many non- Jews for
a publication which may be said to be a distinct event in modem
Judaism. Each volume contains a book of the Pentateuch with
the relevant sections from the “ Prophets,” which, of course, includes
the fc * Former ” (e.*/., Judges iv, 1 Kings xii, &c.) as well as the
“ Latter.” The Hebrew text with vowels and accents is printed
in full. The systems of cantillation are set forth ; the translation
is that of the R.Y. (where text and margin differs a choice is made),
and in addition to notes and comments, there are chronological
tables and maps. There are also several fuller excurses, e.g., on
creation, the Jewish attitude towards evolution, Eden and the fall,
the deluge, Israel in Egypt, the Decalogue, the Code of Hammura-
biet, the c£ Higher Critical ” view of the composite origin of the
Pentateuch, etc. Among special points we note on the map of the
Tribes (vol. ii, facing p. 490) that Judah couches the sea and Ben-
jamin has an unusual frontier, and that the note on Ex. iii, 22
(spoiling the Egyptians) argues curiously and unnecessarily for the
rendering, “ ye shall save the Egyptians," Le., clear the name and
vindicate the humanity of the Egyptians, Dr. Herz has made full
use of Jewish and non-Jewish works, and the general character of
the volumes will be seen from his words (\ol. i, Preface , p. vi.f) :
£i € Accept the true from whatever source it come/ is sound Rabbinic
doctrine ; to which I like to add, c Adopt the* beautiful from what-
ever source it come 5 — even if it be from the pages of a devout
Christian expositor or of an iconoclastic Bible scholar, Jewish or
non-Jewish. This does not in any way affect the Jewish Traditional
character of the work. My conviction that the criticism of the
1 Of. also above, p* 9J .
100
REVIEWS AND NOTICES.
Pentateuch associated with the name of Wellhausen is a perversion
of history and a desecration of religion is unshaken ; likewise —
refusal to eliminate the Divine either from history or from human
life.’ 5
A cordial welcome must be extended to the new Quarterly of
the Department of Antiquities in Palestine, published in Jerusalem
for the Government of Palestine by Milford, Oxford University
Press. This is the latest of the Department’s many activities,
thanks to the generous assistance of Mr. J. D. Bockefeller, Jr., and
the two numbers which have already appeared are sufficient indica-
tion of its value and utility. The first number contains, inter alia ,
notes on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (a recent discovery, by
B.T.R.), a mediaeval Arabic description of the Haram (translated
by L. A. M., to be continued), description of an interesting hoard
of coins discovered near Haifa (by C. L.), and an account (by
D. C. B.) of the contents of some tombs, known to Clermont-
Ganneau (Archaeological Researches in Palestine , i, 248), but now
for the first time carefully examined. In the second number special
mention may be made of the concise bibliography of excavations in
Palestine (by L. A, M.), a contribution (by the same) on the name
Khan el-Akhmar at Beisan, a notice of a newly-opened rock-cut
tomb at Nazareth (by E. T. R.), and descriptions of Byzantine and
other coins, Jewish Tetradrachms of the Second Revolt of the Jews
(both by C. L,). The curious wagon represented on a fragment of the
frieze of the old synagogue of Capernaum is explained as the Taber-
nacle journeying in the Wilderness (p. 69), in preference to the view
(adopted by the present writer, Pel. of Palestine, p. 214) that it is a .
portable shrine. The third number continues its description of the
coins in the Palestine Museum (a good typical collection) and
its useful bibliography. Among the new articles are a tomb chamber
in the Syrian Orphanage, Jerusalem (by D. C. B.), street levels in
the Tyropoeon Valley (by R. W. H.), a Byzantine Church (by
the same), and one, more extensive, on The Crusading and later
remains at the Pilgrims’ Castle, Athlit (by C. N. T.). It should be
added that the Quarterly is well-printed on large paper, and is
profusely illustrated ; its price is five shillings net.
In Biblica , Vol. xiii, 1, Andres Fernandez discusses (in Spanish)
KEVIEWS AND NOTICES.
101
tlie boundaries of Benjamin with special reference to Albright’s
view that in the north the line passed between the Wady Swenit
and the Wady er-Rummaneh, and concludes that Beth-el and
Beth-aven are two names for the same place. Albrecht Alt in the
Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society , xi, 3-4, deals with the name
Orda in the Mosaic Map of Madeba, identifying it with the site of a
bishopric (Oraon, Ardon) in sixth-century lists, and associated with
Gerar : Orda belonged to the old so-called Saltus Gerariticus. In
the same issue T. Canaan sums up an account of the unwritten laws
affecting Palestinian (Arab) women in these words : <c The women
of the Bast who, on the one hand, are relegated by custom to a
lower plane than men and consequently suffer many injustices,
enjoy on the other hand, by virtue of the same body of traditional
law, a great measure of respect and protection, and many of the
unwritten laws which have grown up around her serve effectively to
protect her honour, personal property and life. This dual function
of the traditional law affecting women seems to be a legacy from
the earliest days of Semitic civilisation. 55 Jael’s action in killing
Sisera, he remarks, is inexplicable in the light of modern custom ;
driven by national enthusiasm, she seems deliberately to have
transgressed Oriental laws. In the same issue Ditlef Nielsen gives
some account of the mountain sanctuaries in Petra. He considers
that many of the “ sanctuaries 55 noted by Dalman served a purely
secular purpose : Dalman writes a reply. Albright discusses the
site of Tirzah and the topography of western Manasseh. He
identifies the old town with Tell el-Farah, about eleven kilometres
direct north of Nablus, a mound of about the area of Megkldo, and
half again that of Jericho : “ Such comparative statistics with
regard to the extent of mounds often enable us to form an adequate
general idea of the relative importance of the towns which they
represent. 55 The pottery evidence suggests, but does not prove,
that the site was abandoned in the ninth century b.c. Con-
firmatory evidence is also supplied by the ostraka of Samaria, which
have recently often been studied from the topographical point of
view.
102
NOTES AND QUERIES.
1. The Moabite Siam, lines 28-31 : — These lines run : “ And I
became king (29) ... a hundred in the cities which I added unto
the land. And I built (30) . . . [Mehedejba and Beth-Diblathan
and as for (?) Beth Ba f al-meon, I led there the (31) . . . the
sheep of the land. And as for Haurdnan, etc.” (see G. A. Cooke,
North Semitic Inscriptions , p. 3 $q.). By line 29 Mesha has already
described a number of cities which he has conquered back from
Israel. Mehedeba and Beth Baal-Meon, though not Dibhlathan, of
line 30 have already been referred to, while Hauronan of line 31
mentioned at a later period as specifically Moabite both by Isaiah
(xv, 5) and Jeremiah (xlviii, 3) may not, even in Meska’s time, have
been Israelite. It may be, then, that in line 29 Mesha gives a
summary of his exploits against Israel by stating the total number
of cities over which he ruled including those he took back from
Israel. This might have been expressed by a phrase like : “ And I
had dominion over a hundred 1 cities, including the cities which I
added to the land of Moab.” Eor the idiom “ reign over ” one may
compare “ my father reigned over Moab ” in line 2 and the Old
Testament usage of “ ruling over ” a territory. Eor the use of the
- preposition be (’ppl) meaning “ accompanied by ” or “ including,”
one may compare Jeremiah xi, 19, cc the tree and its sap,” and
1 Kings xix, 8, <f and he with the twelfth.” Though the construction
of the mimeral following the noun is very rare in the earlier books
of the Old Testament and only occasional in Engs and Ezekiel, 2 a
parallel to the order <e cities, a hundred ” is afforded by Gen. xxxii,
15(e) <e goats, a hundred,” and “ ewes, a hundred ” ; and in the
Moabite stone itself by the likely restoration in line 28, “ with
fifty men (ttfbQ) of Daybon.” The order of the restorations in
lines 28 and 29 may be “ enumerative,” i.e ., a further description
of the men in one case and the cities in the other, by means of a
numeral.
1 “ hundred” is possibly a round number; cf. “fifty men of Daybon, 5 ’
line 28, and “ forty years ” line 8.
2 Sven Herner, Syntax der Zahlworler im Alien Testament, quoted in
Gesenius-Kautzsch-Cowley, p. 432, n. 4.
NOTES AND QUERIES.
103
What is left of lines 30 and 31 seems to imply that Mesh a, in
claiming back certain cities to Moab, transferred men to them who
were to foster at least one industry : that of sheep-raising. The
restoration of noked (*p3 ) on the basis of a dubious ( 3) 1 2 at the
end of line 30, and 2 Kings iii, 4, c ‘ and Mesha king of Moab was
a noked” and the “ sheep of the land ” in line 31 after a lacuna of
about eleven letters constitute a double reference to what may
be the same sheep. From such a passage as Isaiah xvi, 6-12 we are
safe in inferring that Moab 5 s vineyards were at least as famous as
her pasture grounds. The lacuna in line 31 may, therefore, have
referred to the vine-dressers as well as to the shepherds whom Mesha
transplanted. The lost phrase may, therefore, have been something
like : “ I led there [the planters of vineyards and shepherds of the]
sheep of the land 55 ( Fsm dm
N. S. Doniach.
2. The deity Yaz . — Among Professor Sir Flinders Petrie’s finds
at Tell el-Ajjui was a black jasper scarab bearing the legend cc Yaz-
su’a-Mera.” ( Catalogue of Exh ibition , 1931 , p. 8). Petrie renders this
* e May Yaz satisfy Mera,” and suggests that “ Yaz is the name of a
deity, probably Syrian, as in the name of Jezebel, 4 Yaz is lord V’
I venture to suggest that tliis comparison is unsound, because the
name Jezebel is clearly to be divided 'bill "t* in which the
second element is probably to be connected with Ass. zabalu £ * be
high,” This division is indicated by such parallel formations as e.tj.
I-Tanith fCITM (CIS i, 542 3 ), and I-Zaphon Lidzbarski,
p, 214), as also the Biblical I-Thamar and Ichahod ( cf . Jochebed).
The comparison of the name Baal-Zaphdn beside I-Zaphon and
Baal-zehul beside I(Je)-zebel confirms the correctness of the division.
It has occurred to me as more likely that the divine name Y 7 az
underlies Jeziel ( ) in 1 Chronicler xii, 3. But even here
caution must be exercised, for it is equally possible that the first.
1 An m can be clearly seen in the excellent reproduction in Dnssaud’s
Les Monuments Palestinians ci J udaltfues ( 1912 ).
2 Possibly “ Moabite sheep, 1 ’ cf. the use of kk the land 51 lor Moab m line 29,
and in the Old Testament for Canaan, Gen. xii, f>, etc.
104:
NOTES AND QUERIES.
element is here a verb. We may perhaps compare the names -
lazi- Dagan, Iazu- Dagan, lazi- erah„ etc., in “ East-Canaanite **
names listed by Bauer.
Theodor H. Gaster.
3. The legend M-z-h . — At Tell el-Nasbeh a jar-handle was found
bearing the legend TOD (Bade, Quarterly Statement of P.E.F.,
1930, p. 14). This has been read mazzah and referred to the Passover.
I suggest that the legend is to be read as an imperative (Qal or Piel)
of the verb mazah = “ drain to last drop ” ; cf perhaps Ass. mezu>
ee a species of wine. 55 The legend now corresponds exactly with the
expressions teal Triec ev and 7 riov eae found on Greek kylikes.
(Brit. Mus. Second Vase Boom, Cases 48, 49). It is interesting in
this connection to observe that LXX renders c ' them that contend
with thee ” "‘jrfiXE) in Isaiah xli, 12, tou? avOpdorrovs ? ot
7 rapoivrjaovcni' el$ ere.
Theodor H. Gaster.
4. Tid ( al (Gen. xiv. 1), Trg-tts and Trg-nns . — In the Orientalist-
ische Lit.-Zeitung for December, Dr. Wreszinski draws attention to
two Hyksos names : T rg-Us and Trg-nns (Atlas II, 101, No. 3, 14).
Associating them with the lxx versions of the name Tid'al (Oapyak,
dakyak, Oaky a) he rejects the more or less accepted identification,
with the Hittite Tiidlmliya , and proposes, instead, an original Tharg-
el. To this there are formidable objections.
The letters r and d resemble each other both in Hebrew-Phoe-
nician and in later Hebrew Alphabets, and are therefore not seldom
confounded in the original texts as well as in their Greek translations.
We cannot doubt that in some of the old lxx texts the name of
Tid c al was transliterated correctly, i.e. 3 with d (so Josephus, Ant .
I, 123: 0aSa\o9). Eventually the Greek A was mistaken for
Greek A, an error quite common in Greek texts. 1 So there came to
life the second lxx version : Oakyak .
A Greek ot Egyptian g, rendering a Hebrew f a, points usually
to the Semitic gh (Arabic ghain) and to a cuneiform h equivalent
1 See Schlatter, Die Hebrdischen Namen bei Josephus (1913), 6.
NOTES AND QUERIES.
105
(in this case) to the Hebrew ‘a (gh) : e.g. ‘azzah = ya£a = gdt
(Eg 7 ptian) s ^ w g r azati (El Amarna Tablets) ; shin'ar = Sngr (Egyp-
tian) = Shanhar (El Amarna Tablets), etc. So, in OaXyaX the g
obviously corresponds to a Hebrew ' a and cuneiform h, and can by
no means be regarded as a proper and authentic g.
For Wreszinski’s el there is no justification whatever. Neither
Hebrew nor Greek texts contain any trace of an e. In fact the
names ending with -el are transliterated in Greek, as a rule, with
7j \ , not with a\. 1
The omission of the last l in 6a\<ya is another argument against
el 3 and at the same time an instructive illustration of the confusion
reigning in the lxx texts as regards the name of Tid'al. The Greek
versions of that name are neither a reliable basis, nor do they allow
even in their present state, Dr. Wreszinski’s conclusions. The
Hebrew version, Tid'al , still holds good, and there seems to be less
reason than ever to doubt its identity with the Hittite royal name,
Tttdhaliyash.
There also seems to be no reason, nor necessity, to associate the
two above-mentioned Hyksos names with Tid'al. Their first
element Trg corresponds perfectly to the name of the Northern,
non-Semitic deity Tarqu, Tarhu, which we find in the Biblical
names Terah and Tirhana (1 Chron. ii, 48). Both Hyksos names
are of exactly the same formation as the well-known Cilician names :
Tarhundarans, King of Arzawa (El Amarna Tablets, No. 31),
Tarqudimme, King of Cilicia (?) 2 , Tarkondemos or Tarkondimotos,
a Cilician prince of the 1st Century. 3
The name Tarqu-Tarhu is at home in Northern Mesopotamia and
all over Asia Minor ; and it may be traced farther to the West as
far as Italy (Tarquinius). We may, therefore, read Trg-tts as Tarqu-
dattash. The transliteration of the Northern t with the Egyptian t
in the Hyksos period presents no difficulty, seeing that Thutmose
III (about 1504-1450 b.c.) transcribes the name of Mitanni as
M n. The other Hyksos name is evidently Tarqu-nanash. As to
its second element, compare the Biblical name Nun, Babylonian
1 Schlatter, op. cit 61.
2 A. H. Sayce, The Hittites (1926), p. 126 f.
« lb , p. 122.
106
NOTES AND QUERIES.
Nona, Nuniya, the Goddess Nin, and the Kerkuk names : Na-ni-ia
and Ha-na . .
Both names furnish further evidence for the presence of Northern ,
non-Semitic elements, among them Aryans (note dattas), in the
Hyksos invasion, along with Mntyw, Amw, and kindred Semitic tribes,
who poured forth in great numbers from Palestine and
North-East Arabia, and eventually submerged in Egyptto a great
extent the initial foreign kernel.
A. Reubeni, Jerusalem.
5. The Funerary Tablet of Uzziah ( Q.S . , 1931, pp. 217-221).
Dr. Sukenik writes, by way of supplement, to say that his explanation
of the second word (p. 218) seems distinctly preferable to the
suggestion that it is a first person singular of the active ( hafel ), £C I
have brought/ 5 which would involve the introduction of an unnamed
individual. He refers also to a lecture given by Mme Elisabeth
Loukianoff at a meeting of the Institut d’Egypte in Cairo, dealing
with the collection of antiquities in the Russian Convent on the
Mount of Olives, Jerusalem. 1 2 He says : — “According to Mme
Loukianoff the text reads in translation as follows : c Aux jours
Josia, roi des H4breux. Salut a sa maison/ Readers of the Q.S .
will be able to see from the very clear plate accompanying his article
that there is no ground fox the Hebrew which this pre-supposes.
Mme Loukianoff quotes Prof. Moritz with regard to the date of the
tablet. According to him the letters resemble the Palmyrene script
of the second and third centuries of the Christian Era. It is a
well-known fact, that there exists a resemblance between the non-
archaic Maccabean and Herodian scripts in general and the
Palmyrene cursive, but the resemblance between the script of our
tablet and the script on monuments of the last two centuries b.c.
and the first century a.d., such as the boundary stone from Gezer,
the mausoleum of Bene Hezir, the bilingual text on the sarcophagus
discovered in the Tombs of the Kings by de Saulcy, and ossuaries in
1 C. J, Gadd, xxiii (1926), p. 28.
2 Le Musee du Couvent Russe du Mont des Oliviers a Jerusalem, Bulletin
de ITnditut (VBgygle, t. 13, session 1930-1, p. 97 ff.
NOTES AND QUERIES.
107
general, is too evident to require any comparison with, documents
outside the territory of Palestine.” With regard to the formula
“ and not to be opened,” says Dr. Sukenik, Cf I recently came across
another example of it on a closing stone, now in the Dormitio, in
Jerusalem, discovered in 1907 and left undeciphered until now.
It is one more instance of what we might consider as a rule in
archaeological hermeneutics, that once a good solution to a puzzle
has been found, it will serve as a key to others, and a warning not to
consider things impossible because no explanation has presented
itself as yet. On such occasions it is much safer to confess
ignorance.”
E. L. Sukenik, Jerusalem.
108
TRANSLITERATION OF HEBREW AND ARABIC CONSONANTS.
HEBREW.
A1UBIC.
English,
ARAJHO.
English.
\
>
U*
d
b
y
t
CD
t
y
tz
CD
tk
t
t
iL
g
or j in Syrian Arabic.
i
gb
£
h
(J
f
kh
..
k
t
—
J
T
tl)
k
C
dh
J
1
J
r
A
i
m
J
z
n
s
.*
h
A
w
sh
J
w
z
lS
7
Long Towels marked thus : — a, i, i, 6, u.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Notes and News 109
Palestine Exploration Fund, Sixty-Seventh Annual
General Meeting 119
Recent Discoveries of the Joint Expedition to Samaria.
By J. W, Crowfoot, C.B.E., M.A., F.S.A 132
The Joint Samaria Expedition, Proposals for 1933.
By J. W. Crowfoot 134
Excavations at Beth-Shan in 1931. By G. M. FitzGerald,
M.A. 138
A Third Season at Jericho ; City and Necropolis. By
Prof. John Garstang, D.Sc., &c\ 149
The Ras esh-Shamra Tablets. By J. P. Naish, D.D. ... 154
Reviews : Bentwich, England in Palestine ; Sukknik
and Mayer, The Third Wall of Jerusalem, &o., &c.
By E. W. G. Masterman, M.D. 164
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Samaria :
V I, I]
and III. Carved Ivories
. . . after
132
IV. Plan op Ancient Buildings
Reth-shan :
...
132
1.
Limestone Wall with “ Israelite ”
Masonry
after
148
2.
Ruins op Gate-Tower with Byzantine
(?) Wall
after
148
3.
Building at North-West of Summit
* * * ? ?
148
4.
Western End op Same Building...
* • * )i
148
5.
Door-Jamb with Hieroglyphics ...
* * •
148
6.
Rooms op Middle Bronze Age ....
...
148
7.
Scarabs *
... j.
148
8.
Egg-shaped Faience Pot
...
148
9.
Roman Tombs with Loculi and Remains op Early
Bronze Age Tomb
. . . after
148
10.
Glass Vases prom Loculus in IVth
Century
Tomb
. . . after
148
11.
Inscription in Mosaic Floor
148
Quarterly Statement, July, 1932.]
THE
PALESTINE EXPLORATION FUND
NOTES AND NEWS.
The office of the P.E.F. will be closed from Monday*
8th August* re-opening on Thursday* 8th September. Letters
posted to the office during that period will be forwarded
by the Post Office* but matters of special urgency may
be addressed to Dr. E. W. G, Masterman (Hon. Sec. P.E.F.),
St. Giles* Hospital* Camberwell* S.E.5.
The Sixty 'Seventh Annual General Meeting of the Fund was held on
Thursday, June 16th, at the rooms of the Society of Antiquaries,
Burlington House, London, W., the Bishop of Bochester, the Bight
Bev. Dr. M. Linton Smith, D.S.O., in the chair. The meeting
was well attended, and listened with appreciation to the account,
illustrated with numerous slides, given by Mr. G. M. Fitzgerald
of his recent excavations at Beisan (Beth-Shan). A more formal
account of Mr. Fitzgerald’s work will be found in this number (see
pp. 138 jfjf.). Sir Frederic Kenyon read reports, which had
recently been received from Mr. Crowfoot, on the excavation at
Samaria. These and the proposals for 1933, and a subsequent
letter from Mr. Crowfoot, are printed below (see pp. Ill, 132, 134).
The Chairman of the Executive Committee, Sir Charles Close, made
reference to the proposed reconstruction of the ground floor of the
Fund’s Offices, which will considerably improve their efficiency.
The Bishop of Bochester, in the course of a most interesting address,
made the important suggestion ' that it might be worth while to
I
110
NOTES AND NEWS.
'm
mark on the next new map of Palestine not merely all the sites
that have been excavated, but all tells with such evidence as is avail-
able as to the date of their civilization. He drew attention to some
of the more recent discoveries, in particular the skeletons of a new
species of man which had been found near Athlit. In conclusion, he
remarked that the work which the Fund had succeeded in accom-
plishing in the course of its sixty-eight years testified not only
to the richness of the material, but also to the skill and ability of
the various people who have set themselves to the task.
"■4',
■ y
3
4
The Bishop, in common with one or two other speakers, made
some reference to the necessarily somewhat controversial aspects
of the results of excavation which are apt to arise. In particular
a recent review by Professor Stanley Cook, written under his signa-
ture, as an ordinary contributor, and not as editor, was specially
mentioned. It may be added that the Editor has asked Professor
Garstang to write for the Quarterly Statement a full review of the
new and important book by Dr. W. E. Albright, the leading archaeo-
logical authority, entitled The Archceology of Palestine and the Bible .
This Professor Garstang has kindly consented to do for an early
number of the Q.S. } and readers will look forward with keen interest
to his comments upon our contributor’s remarks.
sk
■ jr
m
m
m
m
m
Some account of Professor Garstang’s work at Jericho has already
appeared in the Press ; and we are glad to be able to give in this
issue a summary of his more important results.
1
m
ug|
Among the articles which have had to be held over for the
next n um ber are a detailed and fully illustrated account by Mr.
Chitty of his study of the Monastery of St. Euthymius ; and a note by
Mr. Narkiss, of Jerusalem, of fresh evidence for the cult of the
Dioscuri at Sebaste.
' NOTES AND NEWS.
Ill
Mr. Crowfoot’s account of his work at Samaria (p. 132) is to be
supplemented by a letter written by him on June 4th, and read
at the Annual Meeting. He says : —
The ivories and the walls are, of course, far the most important
of our discoveries ; but another interesting find also has been
made in the so-called hippodrome. The plastered room found
last year under the western colonnade has been further explored,
and we have unearthed a statue of Kore, wearing a veil above her
head, and holding a torch in the right hand, and some ears of com
with a pomegranate in the left. The statue is under life-size
and in good preservation ; it may be dated about 200 a.d.
Besides this, the finds on this spot include a second female figure
which is headless, a nude male figure which is also headless,
and two Greek inscriptions referring to Kor4, one a graffito
on the wall of the plastered room, the other in red paint on a
marble slab, and both of real interest. Excavations are still
proceeding in this area.
Professor Sir Flinders Petrie will hold the annual exhibition of
Oanaanite and Hyksos antiquities, July 11 to August 6 (10 a.m
*■' ,, 'ho 5p.m.), at University College, Gower Street, W.C.l. An
interesting and illustrated summary of his discoveries at Tell el-Ajjul,
the site of Gaza, appeared in the Illustrated London News of May 14 —
enough to whet one’s appetite for more. For Gaza the <f Troy ” of
south-western Asia was ten times its size, and what has already been
brought to light, shows how widely spread were the connections
X ; between different civilisations as early as about 1500 b.c., and how
ancient was such a custom as civic purifications by fire. Further,
Sir Flinders is of opinion that he has found proof of horse-sacrifice
and hippophargy during the period of the Hyksos. The horse was
found to be in Palestine some 20,000 years before, but it disappeared
until re-introduced by these “ shepherd kings.”
A propos of Father Mallon’s article in the January Q.S. on the :
Five Cities of the Plain, Mr. David Gibson of Holden, Alberta
k . ' ' '■ ,
'• * / *r
112
NOTES AND NEWS.
(Canada), writes recalling some of the arguments advanced by,
Canon Tristram in favour of the northern site. These are given in
Picturesque Palestine , edited by Sir Charles W. Wilson (vol. i, pp.
157-161). It should be added that Father Mailon has written to
supplement, and in part, rectify some of his remarks in that article.
Further study has convinced him that the “ inscribed pebbles ”
were not authentic, and we have to regret that a letter of his to that
effect reached us too late to use. He now recognises as authentic
only numbers 7 and 12 on Plate I (facing p. 76). He says ; “ These ?
pebbles are amulets with very simple signs. The plate, however,
will serve to show the difference between an original and an imita-
tion. 5 s We hope to print his remarks in full in the next issue.
We regret to have to record the death of the Rev. Dr. Lewis
Bayles Paton, who acted as the Fund’s Honorary General Secretary
in the United States from 1909 to 1919. Dr. Paton was Professor of
Old Testament exegesis at the Hartford Theological Seminary since
1900, and was a well-known scholar in the field of Old Testament |
studies and ancient Oriental History. In 1903 and 1904 he was ’ 'v<
director of the American School of Oriental Study and Research, and
besides being keenly interested in Palestinian archaeology was not
less interested in that of New Mexico which he often visited. , / I
Professor Burkitt writes a propos of the Greek inscription
published in the last issue, p. 84, that the second word on the first
line should be read BE — the B has this form for the centuries
i, ii, v.-vii.
We take the following interesting note from The Near East and vV
India (June 9) Testimony from the tomb, definitely establishing
the site of Mizpah, came to light in the most recent excavations at :
Tell en-Nasbeh, proving conclusively that the Biblical fortress was
located on this site. The testimony was in the form of a beautifully-
worked agate seal, inscribed in old Hebrew characters, showing that
it belonged to Jaazaniah, one of . King Zedekiah’s principal officers,
NOTES AND NEWS,
113
and mentioned in II. Kings xxv, 23 and Jeremiah xl, 8. The word,
“ Yaazanyahu ,J (God heareth), is spelt on the seal exactly as in the
Hebrew Scriptures. Beneath it is in Hebrew, “ Servant of the
King/ 5 and on a third line a well-etched design of a crowing cockerel,
with spurs on its taut legs. The seal was found in Jaazaniah’s tomb
in the west necropolis, and its age has been established at 2,500 years.
The excavators were the expedition of the Pacific School of Religions,
Berkeley, California, directed by Prof. W. F. Bade. The construc-
tion at Mizpah, now called Tell en-Nasbeh, with its religious saner
tuaries, cisterns, and granaries, make this one of the most fascinating
Biblical sites of Palestine. Twenty of the tombs, from 2500 B.c, to
Byzantine times, were found to have been rifled by ancient grave-
robbers.
Annual No. 5 contains Mr. Crowfoot’s report on his work at Ophel
and the Tyropoeon Valley during the excavating season of 1927. He
was assisted by Mr. G. M. FitzGerald, Assistant-Director of the
British School of Archaeology, who has written the second part of
the book dealing with the pottery and smaller finds, while Mir,
Crowfoot describes the buildings and levels, analysing the strati- ;
fication of the site from the earliest times to the Arab Conquest and
the Crusading period. The volume contains as frontispiece the
Old Gate from the north-west, 22 other plates, and 21 illustrations,
there are 131 pages of letterpress and an index. Price 31s. 6d. to
non-members.
By an arrangement with Sir Flinders Petrie, Members of the
P.E.F. are enabled to purchase at half the published price the
Reports of the British School of Archaeology in Egypt dealing with
the Society’s researches in Palestine. Reciprocally, the excavation
Reports of the P.E.F. henceforth issued are available to Members
of the School in Egypt similarly at half-price. P.E.F. Members
desirous of taking advantage of this privilege should apply to the
Secretary, 2, Hinde Street, W.l.
Antiques for Sale . — A small collection of antiquities from the
excavations at Ophel is on view at the Museum of the Fund,
m
NOTES AND NEWS-.
2, Hinde Street, Manchester Square, W.l, and a number of duplicates
including pottery lamps, stamped Rhodian jar-handles, etc., are
on sale.
Miss C. M. Finn has kindly presented to the Fund seven pieces
of Archaic Greek pottery, five vases of which are certified by the
British Museum as Corinthian ware dating from the seventh century,
b.c. Miss Finn instructs that they be offered for sale, and that the
proceeds be devoted to the work of the Fund. Interested collectors
are invited to call at 2, Hinde Street, and inspect them.
The new plan of Jerusalem on a scale of approximately 1 : 5,000,
or about 12 inches to a mile, recently published by the Pro- Jerusalem
Society, is now on sale at the P.E.F. office. Unmounted it measures
39 X 34 inches, and the price is 5s. ; mounted on cotton and folded
to size 8x6 inches, price 9s. The latter form is the more con-
venient, as owing to its size the unmounted sheet cannot be sent
through the post without a fold.
Churches at Jerash . — A Preliminary Report of the Joint Yale-
British School Expeditions to Jerash, 1928-1930, by J. W.
Crowfoot, C.B.E., M.A., has been published as Supplementary Paper
No. 3 by the Council of the British School of Archaeology in
Jerusalem, and can be obtained at 2, Hinde Street. Price 5s.
The reduced price to members of the P.E.F. or B.S.A.J. is 2s. 6d.
The library of the Palestine Exploration Fund contains some
duplicate volumes. They may be purchased, and a list, with
the price of each volume, has been prepared, and can be obtained
on application.
The list of books received will be found on p. 115.
NOTES AND NEWS*
115
It may be well to mention that plans and photographs alluded
to in the reports from Jerusalem and elsewhere cannot all be
published, but they are preserved in the office of the Fund, where
they may be seen by subscribers.
Subscriptions and Income Tax. The attention of Subscribers
is drawn to the leaflet enclosed with this number, the use of which
will enable the Fund to benefit by the recovery of Income Tax.
The Annual Report of the Palestine Exploration Fund, with Accounts
and List of Subscriptions for 1931 was issued with the April number.
A complete set of the Quarterly Statements, 1869-1910, containing
some of the early letters (now scarce), with an index, 1869-1910, bound
in the Palestine Exploration Fund cases, can be had. Price on application
to the Secretary, 2, Hinde Street, Manchester Square, W.l.
The price of a complete set of the translations published by the
Palestine Pilgrims’ Text Society, in 13 volumes, with general index,
bound in cloth, is £15 15s. Subscriber’s price £14 14s. A catalogue
describing the contents of each volume can be had on application to
the Secretary, 2, Hinde Street, Manchester Square, W.l.
The Museum at the Office of the Fund, 2, Hinde Street, Manchester
Square, W.l, is open to visitors every week-day fromlO o’clock till 5 except
Saturdays, when it is closed at 1 p.m.
The Committee have to acknowledge with thanks the following :
The Near East , April 21. 46 Mutual Co-operation ” in Palestine.
Annual of the British School at Athens , Vol. xxx. The copper mines of
Cyprus, by 0. Davies ; two protopalatial houses at Knossos, by
H. W. and J. D. S. Pendlebury.
Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland.
The Expository Times, , May. Recent Biblical Archaeology, by Rev*
J, W. Jack. %
Ancient Egypt, March. Palaces of Ancient Gaza, by Sir Flinders Petrie ;
Ancient defences of Gaza, by Lieut. -Col. N. P. Clarke.
116
NOTES AND NEWvS.
Annals of Art and Archaeology ( University of Liverpool), xix, 1-2.
Jericho, city and necropolis, with 23 plates (to be continued). By
John Garstang.
The Antiquaries Journal , April.
Journal of the j Royal Anthropological Institute, July-December, 1932.
Scottish Geographical J ournaL
The New Judaea.
Journal of the American Oriental Society .
Journal of the Society of Oriental Research, July-November. The
cosmological similes in John iii. 5, by Chaim Kaplan ; translation
into verse of the Aten hymns, by J. R. Towers.
The Homiletic Review .
Journal of the Society of Oriental Research, xvi, 1-2. Aribi and Arabia in
the Bab.-Ass.-sources, by T. W. Rosmarin ; the Egyptian god Re in
the O.T., by J. Bloch.
The American Journal of Philology.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), March. 3, Bulletin.
2, The Egyptian expedition, 1930-1, by H. E. Winlock, W. Hauser,
N. de G. Davies.
The Geographical Review (Neiv York), April.
The Jewish Quarterly Review, April. Studies in the Economics of the
Bible, by Eli Ginzberg.
The Museum Journal, Philadelphia, xxiii, 1. Recent additions to the
classical collections.
Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research . February. Survey
of Palestinian and Syrian archaeology in 1931, by M. Burrows ;
excavations at Jerasb, 1931, by C. S. Fisher.
The Archaeology of Palestine and the Bible, by W. F. Albright. (Revell
Company, New York, etc., 1932. $2.)
Nouvelles Decouveries aux Pays de la Bible. By Robert de Jarnac.
(Paris, Montpellier 26. 4 francs.)
Journal Asiatique. Questions de cosmogonie et de cosmologie Mazde-
ennes, by H. S. Nyberg.
Syria , xii, 4. Supplementary note on the poem of Rag Shamra, by
Charles Virolleaud ; the mosaics of the Omayyad mosque at
Damascus, by E. de Lorey ; Syrian antiquities, by H. Seyrig ; etc.
Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum , Pars ii. Inscriptiones Aramaicas
eontinens, t. iii, fasc. i, nos. 3907-4237. Inscriptiones Palmyrenae.
Paris, 1926.
Revue BiUique, April. Exploration in the SE. of the Jordan valley, by
F.-M. Abel ; ceramics and chronology, by L.-H. Vincent.
Revue dl Oto-N euro-Ophtalmologie, J anuary .
NOTES AND NEWS.
Ill
Associazione Internationale Studi Mediterranei , Bollettino. February
March, the excavations at Samaria, by J. W. Crowfoot.
Orientalia , i, 1, 1932. Old South Arabian inscriptions, by Mordtmann
and Mittwoch ; Barhebraeus on the rational soul, by G. Furlani ; the
dialogue of the pessimist with his soul (Egyptian), by P. Suys ;
Articles on Akhadian subjects by Witzel, G. R. Driver, and N*
Schneider. (Published by the Pontifical Institute, Rome.)
Biblica, xiii, 2. Jewish conceptions of the life beyond, by I. B. Frey ;
the fortified sites S.E. o the valley of the Jordan, by A. Mallon ; etc.
Archiv Orientalni , iv, 1,
Orientalistische Literalurzeitung.
Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palastina-Vereins, liv, 4. EleutheropoMs in
the ivth cent, a.d., by Gustave Beyer ; Jehud (Josh, xix, 45), etc., by
Otto Eissfeldt; the Taraxippos in the hippodrome of Caesarea
Palestine, by Joachim Jeremias, etc
Zeitschrift fur die Alltest. W issenschaft , 1932, i. The religious aspects of
Hebrew kingship, by C. R. North ; an old Mediterranean temple-type
by H. Thiersch ; etc.
Die Passahfeier der Samar itaner, by J. Jeremias. (Topelmann, Giessen .
Archiv fur Orientforschung , vii, 5-6. Survey of recent archaeological
research, by P. Thomsen, etc. ; articles on Mesopotamian archaeology
by D. Opitz, Schwenzner, Dombart, etc.
Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society , xii, 1-2. “ Convallis Mambre,*'
by F. Stumme ; two Jewish hypogaea, by E. L. Sukenik ; the Holy
Rock and the Old Testament, by H. W. Hertzberg ; the Hyksos, by
Jirku ; Palestinian nursery rhymes, by St. H. Stephan ; the volcanic
phenomena of the Exodus, by W. J. Phythian-Adams ; No. 3 : the
historial geography and topography of the Negeb, by A. Alt;
Daroxna, by M, Burrows; geological problems on the S. side of the lake
of Tiberias, by Leo Picard ; review of Garstang’s J oshua-J udges, by
A. Alt.
The Hebrew University , Jerusalem . Inforrmlion for Students .
La Revue de V Academic Arabe.
ATMashriq, February- March. The psychology of the Pre-Islamie
Bedouins, by P. Lammens ; gold mines of Syria, by Martin Gire
(continued in April.)
NEA SION? December. Notes on Exodus, by M. Bella (continued
in February issue) ; graves within and without Jerusalem.
Bible Lands, April. In Memoriam number to Bishop Mac Inn es
The Caves of Machpelah-
Meteorological Summaries , 1930. Issued by the Government of
Palestine, Department of Agriculture and Forests.
118
NOTES AND NEWS.
The Committee will be grateful to any subscribers who may be disposed
to present to the Fund any of the following books : —
The Memoirs of the Survey of Western Palestine .
The Quarterly Statement, from 1869 up to date.
Due de Luynes, Voyage a la Mer Morte (1864) ; published about 1874.
K. von Raumer, Der Zug der Isrdliten , (Leipzig, 1837 ) .
Lagarde, Onomastica Sacra (1887),
Le Strange, Palestine Under the Moslems (1890).
New Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, English Translation. Original
- text edited, formulated, and punctuated by Michael L. Rodkinson.
Revised and corrected by the Rev. Dr. Isaac M. Wise. Published
by the New Amsterdam Book Company, New York. Vol. i.
Sabbath already in the Library ; subsequent volumes wanted.
Whilst desiring to give publicity to proposed identification
and other theories advanced by officers of the Fund and contributors
to the pages of the Quarterly Statement , the Committee wish it to
be distinctly understood that by publishing them in the Quarterly
Statement they do not necessarily sanction or adopt them.
Form op Bequest to the Palestine Exploration Fund.
I give to the Palestine Exploration Fund, London, the sum of
to be applied towards the General Work of the Fund ; and I direct that the
said sum he paid, free of legacy Duty, and that the Receipt of the Treasurer
of the Palestine Exploration Fund shall be a sufficient discharge for the same.
Note. — Three Witnesses are necessary to a Will by the Law of the United
States of America, and Two by the Law of the U nited Kingdom.
119
PALESTINE EXPLORATION FUND.
THE 67th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING.
The Sixty-Seventh Annual General Meeting of the Palestine
Exploration Fund was held at the Rooms of the Society of Anti-
quaries, Burlington House, London, W.l, on Thursday, 16th June,
1932, when The Bishop of Rochester (The Right Rev. M. Linton
Smith, D.S.O., D.D.) presided, and Mr. G. M, FitzGerald gave an
account of his recent excavations at Beisan (Beth -Shan). In addi-
tion, Sir Frederick Kenyon read reports recently received from Mr.
Crowfoot on the excavation at Samaria.
Dr. E. W. G; Masterman (Hon. Secretary), read the Minutes
of the 66th Annual Meeting held on 18th June, 1931, and these,
having been confirmed, were signed by the Chairman.
Apologies for absence were received from Professor J. L. Myres,
Brig.-Gen. E. M. Paul, Dr. Cecil Curwen, Professor S. A. Cook,
Sir George Adam Smith, and Prof. Garstang. A letter from Sir
Robert, Mond was read as follows : —
i£ Will you kindly apologise to Sir Charles Close, the members
of the Council and those attending the meeting my regret not to he
able to attend the Annual Meeting %
“In addition to our joint report as Treasurers, I need only repeat
the importance of obtaining a greater interest in our work, mani-
festing itself in a large increase of our annual subscribers. To
attain this object, we must not only, as we have suggested, create
fresh branches with energetic secretaries, but also ask our present
subscribers to use their personal efforts to obtain an increase.
My personal connection with various societies as Chairman or
Treasurer, has taught me the importance of a large body of sub-
scribers even if individually subscribing small sums. The general
interest taken in, and consequently increasing * importance and
120
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING.
standing of the Society facilitates the attaining of substantial
support from individuals, who might otherwise lend their support
to private enterprises with the consequential splitting up of available
intellectual and financial co-operation.
Yours very faithfully,
Robert Mond.”
The Hon. Secretary also reported that the following 14 Sub-
scribers had qualified for full Membership of the Fund during the
past year : —
Francis D. Bacon, Esq.
Sheldon H. Blank, Esq.
J. Eide, Esq.
CL A. Ladson, Esq.
Rev. D. M, McIntyre, D.D.
Rev. Canon J. Parfit.
Yen. Archdeacon Stewart.
Major A. F. Becke.
Dr. Lydston Crimp.
Rev. W. R. Hutton.
Jewish National University.
Dr. A. E. Mader.
M. Peter Pazmany
Tudemaneygy eter, .
Dr. Heyman Wreford.
Sir Charles Close (Chairman, Executive Committee) then said:
I beg to propose the adoption of the Annual Report and Accounts
which are already in the hands of Subscribers and perhaps may be
taken as read. It will be seen in the Report that we have to mourn
the loss of some eminent members of our Society, notably Canon
Dalton, who accompanied the King in his journey to Palestine fifty
years ago ; Dr. Maclnnes, Bishop in Jerusalem and the East ; and
Dr. Cowley, Bodleian Librarian. We must, unfortunately, add to
that list the name of the Rev. Prof. L, B. Paton, who had been
our General Secretary in the United States from 1909 to 1919, and
had previously been the Director of the American School of
Archaeology in Jerusalem (1903-4).
On behalf of the Fund, the Executive Committee agreed to
co-operate in the excavation of Samaria, with Harvard University,
the British School of Archaeology, the British Academy and the
Hebrew University. The excavations are proceeding, and the
Fund is due, by agreement, to contribute during this year (1932) the
sum of £1,000. This is being done ; we have, in fact, paid half,
and the other half will be paid during the remainder of the year.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING.
121
If the excavations are continued next year, it will be necessary
for the four bodies interested on this side of the Atlantic to see
what can be done, between them, to raise the necessary funds.
As mentioned in the Annual Report, it has been decided by
the Executive Committee to reconstitute the ground floor of our
house, No. 2, Hinde Street, in such a way that, when the recon-
struction is completed, the Fund will possess, for the benefit of its
members, a suitable lecture room, a small museum and a properly
organised library. We are enabled to carry out these very desirable
improvements because the leases of the basements fall in December
next, and we shall then be able to use the basements as stores, and
be able to free the ground floor of a good deal of miscellaneous
material, thus making the best use of the space available. The
reconstruction will be commenced in January next and the work
may very probably be completed by the time of the next General
Meeting.
Before I sit down I should like to express what all of us feel,
and that is our pleasure at learning of the honour bestowed upon
our Honorary Treasurer, Sir Robert Mond, by His Majesty the
King.— (Applause.)
Dr. E. W. 6 . Masterman seconded the proposition that the
Report and Accounts be adopted, whereupon Mr. W. C. Edwards
asked if he would be in order at that juncture in making some
remarks with regard to the editorial work.
The Chairman replied that the question had been discussed by
the Executive Committee and he had been asked to rule that it
should be brought forward not on the adoption of the Report but
under the election of the Executive Committee.
The Report and Accounts were adopted without further
discussion.
On the motion of Dr. Masterman, seconded by Sir Charles
Marston, the Rev. G. T. Graham-Browne, O.B.E., Bishop Designate
of Jerusalem, was elected to the General Committee.
122
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING,
Mr. W. H. Boulton proposed the re-election of the Executive
Committee as at present constituted.
The Rev. T. Harrison seconded, and added that he had had the
advantage of a very long connection with the Fund and therefore
.knew the esteem in which it was held in various parts of the country,
in the public schools and elsewhere. Again and again it had been
his pleasure to listen to tributes to the wisdom and steady administra-
tion of the Executive Committee, tributes that had been spontaneous
and, from his point of view, very well deserved. A Committee such
as that, dealing with important questions of archaeology, would
have no difficulty in rousing all kinds of controversy from nearly
every point of the compass, but from the inception of its work until
the present time the Executive Committee of the Fund had displayed
great wisdom and discretion in the way in which it had administered
the Fund’s affairs. Therefore, he had great pleasure in moving the
re-election of the Executive Committee and felt sure all would
endorse the hope that that Committee might enjoy a very prosperous
year.
The Chairman then called upon Mr. W. C. Edwards; who said :
I have spent the last two winters in Palestine, having only recently
returned, and I may say I know a little about the vast subject of
exploration of Palestine. Seventy years ago the founders of this
Fund founded it in the belief that every turn of the spade would show
how true and how reliable are the records of Holy Scripture. In our
published papers we say : “ Although the Society is not a religious
Society strictly, so called, its work necessarily possesses unusual
interest for Bible students of all denominations, who find in the
results obtained by exploration much that confirms and illustrates
the historical truth of both the Old and the New Testaments. In
the course of its existence, the Society, with limited funds at its
disposal, has done an immense amount of work, and published the
results in books, papers, maps, plans, and photographs, primarily
for the benefit of its subscribers, and for the advantage of students of
Holy Scriptures.” So that this Society really exists as a Society for
exploring the Holy Land and proving the truth of Holy Scriptures.
Now, with those objects, it has received a great deal of support,
especially from my very honoured friend, Sir Charles Marston. We
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING.
123
owe to Mm and to others the wonderful work which has been done at
Jericho. Now, Professor Garstang has not only examined Jericho
but he has examined other sites and has written a book which is
reviewed by the Editor of the Quarterly Statement , from p. 96 of
which I quote these words : “ In any event, it is extremely helpful
to have such a volume as this one wherein is set forth what in the
opinion of a competent archaeologist is the best case that can be
made for establishing a view of the Foundations of Bible History
that adheres more closely to the biblical sources than do the views of
more sceptical writers like myself.” If those are the views, and if
that is the way in which our editor is going to treat the discoveries
made in Palestine, the sooner we have another editor the better, and
I respectfully suggest we should ask him to resign.
The Chairman : May I read the Rules laid down by the Arch-
bishop of York at the first meeting of the Fund in 1865 and which
Rules govern the work of this body : 1. That the work of the Fund
should be carried out on scientific principles which, I take it,
means that all evidence, whatever its bearing may be, must be
published without any question as to its bearing on any other matter.
2. That the Society should as a body abstain from controversy.
3. That it should not be started nor should it be conducted as a
religious Society. The statement has been made in perfectly good
faith by the editor of the Quarterly Statement in a review of a book of
the utmost value, in which he uses an adjective wMch, as has been
pointed out to the speaker, is used in more than one sense. The
speaker has, however, chosen to interpret that in a special sense
which I do not think can be fairly applied to the Regius Professor of
Hebrew in the University of Cambridge. There is no attack on the
Christian faith ; the editor says he allows less weight to some of the
evidence brought forward by Professor Garstang than Professor
Garstang does himself, and that is a matter on which men dealing
with a scientific question are very likely to differ. Further, the
statement was made not as editor, but in a signed review.
Sir Charles Marston : My Lord, I feel in a very difficult
position. Next to Professor Garstang I feel more involved than
anybody else in these criticisms. I quite appreciate the point
that has been raised by Mr. Edwards, but I hardly like to express an
124
ANNUAL general meeting.
opinion. Professor Garstang would be tbe man who really would
be more concerned. He is not here, but I am under tbe impression
that be is fairly satisfied with the view that Dr. Cook lias taken of his
book. It is not, perhaps, a view which from the point of view of
some of us is entirely satisfactory, but I think it has this about it,
that it is more forcible from the fact that Dr. Cook himself is one of
those who has committed himself to more Modernist views about the
Bible. My recollection of the review is that he more or less confesses
that he has got to modify his views. I do not wish to express an
opinion one way or the other,, but I feel it is very important that
archseological discoveries in Palestine should be treated with
absolute fairness, and that if there is any prejudice one way or the
other, the prejudice should be rather in favour of the traditional
point of view than in favour of views which are, after all, based, to a
large extent, on evidence which is not archaeological.
The Chairman: We are most grateful to Sir Charles for what he
has said. I do not know whether Mr. Edwards is satisfied after
having put his views to the meeting ?
Mr. Edwards : I am quite satisfied to have had an opportunity
of expressing them here, and, of course, I am at liberty to publish
them far and wide.
The Chairman : Yes, sir.
Mr. Edwards : I shall not move any resolution.
The Chairman : Thank you very much.
The resolution for the re-election of the Executive Committee
was then put and carried.
On the motion of Mr. G. M. Fitzgerald, seconded by Dr. E. W.
G. Masterman, Messrs. Turquand, Youngs & Co., were re-appointed
as Auditors for 1932.
Chairman’s Address.
The Chairman : Sir Charles Close, Ladies and Gentlemen, —
You have done a very rash and dangerous thing, in that you have
asked someone to speak without naming a subject, and without
fixing a definite time limit. When an ecclesiastic begins a discourse
he has a perfect right, under those circumstances, to be discoursive,
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING.
125
and I have every intention of being discoursive this afternoon ;
bnt I hope that my discoursiveness will not interfere with that
which is to follow, for we are to hear some most important reports,
the first by Mr. Fitzgerald on the excavations at Beisan, and then
Sir Frederic Kenyon is to read reports from Mr. Crowfoot on the
•excavation at Samaria.
I want to begin by referring to two books which have been
published within the past year, Professor Garstang’s Joshua and
Judges , and another which I regard as of equal importance from the
point of view of the work of this Society, and that is Professor
Olm stead's History of Syria and Palestine. It seems to me that
those two books form two of the most striking collections of material
with regard to Syria and Palestine that have seen light for some
time past. One of the points about both of them, which comes
out at every turn, is that they are written by men who are intimately
acquainted with the land. I had the good fortune to meet Professor
Olmstead some twenty -five years ago, when he was travelling
through Asia Minor with a view to producing that monumental
work which was published some little time ago, The History of
Assyria , and I remember that he then said to me that he had often
been puzzled by references on Assyrian monuments to separate
kingdoms close together, particularly in the region of Cilicia, hut
he understood those references when he found there was a mountain
range, 10,000 feet high, between the two, though they were very
close together as the crow flies. That is one small point in which
knowledge of the land made the story which, as it was read, seemed
rather doubtful and unlikely, thoroughly credible, and in accordance
with facts. Again, both Professor Garstang — and I hope here I
am not entering on controversial matter — and Professor Olmstead,
one in his preface and the other in the course of his story, point
out with regard to different narratives in the Old Testament with
which they are dealing, that the core of those narratives, that
is to say, the earliest stratum as revealed on literary analysis,
is of singular historical value. Professor Garstang says that in his
Preface, with regard to the stories in Joshua and Judges, and Pro-
fessor Olmstead says it with regard to the court history of early
dynasties of Israel.
Now the insistence on the importance of knowledge of the land
brings me back to the work which this Fund undertook at a very
K
126
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING*
early stage in its proceedings, and that is the geographical Survey
of Palestine. That work was done somewhat hurriedly, but with
considerable care, and the survey has served as the basis of all
subsequent geographical work. I think it had another result
of importance, of which we shall find the value as days go on, and
that is that it also obtained at the time place-names which, even
in Palestine, are beginning to disappear. Anyone who is interested
in the early history of an English parish will know the immense
value of the names of the fields upon tithe maps, but the names
are rapidly disappearing and being forgotten. That the survey of
Palestine should have been made at a time when Western influence
was very little felt in Palestine, and the present mobility of' the
population had not been made possible, is a matter for which we'
should be profoundly thankful, for we have a very careful record
of the place names as they were known in the country about fifty
years ago.
I want to make one suggestion. A new survey of Palestine
is being made. There was a short article on the first instalment
of it by Sir Charles Close in the Quarterly Statement a few months
ago ; and the Fund is at the moment engaged in preparing a map
on which will be marked all sites which have been excavated.
I want to suggest that it might be worth while to carry that method
a little further, and mark all tells , all sites, after a survey, with
such evidence as is available as to date of the civilization upon
them ; a competent archeologist visiting a mound can very soon
say whether there are old remains in the shape of pottery lying
about on the surface, and judge from these about what date the
culture of that mound can be put down to. It would save a good
deal , of trouble if an archaeological survey of that kind were under-
taken by this Fund, and done thoroughly all over the country.
Two points I wish to dwell on in this discoursive discourse
arise out of recent statements in The Times of two successive days.
On the 10th June there appeared in that newspaper a record of the
opening of Palestine Electric Corporation’s first Jordan Power'
House at Abadieh, the opening having taken place on the previous,
day by the High Commissioner, General Wauchope. I presume
that Abadieh is Tell Abediyeh, which stands about three miles
below the exit of the Jordan from the Sea of Galilee, and has recently
AlSHNUAIr GrENEBAIj MEETING.
127
been proved to be a place of very great historical importance
Canon Phythian-Adams has suggested that Tell Abediyeh is the
site of a place which is referred to over and over again in the Egyptian
inscriptions, Yenoam ; for Tell Abediyeh is of geographical import-
ance, in that it commands the first ford across the Jordan south
of the Sea of Galilee, and is on the direct road from Akka, north of
Mt. Tabor, across to Fahil (Pella) and the various towns east of the
Jordan. It is a real strategic position.
I do not know whether Mr. Fitzgerald is going to say anything
about the stele of Seti I, but I allude to it because it is in that stele
discovered at Beisan and erected by Seti I that I get connection
between the new Jordan Power House and ancient history. Professor
Garstang, in the book refered to by more than one speaker this
afternoon, calls attention to the fact that the stele of Seti I may
be interpreted as giving, from the Egyptian point of view, the
story of the establishment of the Ephraimite tribes east of Jordan.
He quotes from the xvii chapter of Joshua, verses 11 and 18, in
which Joshua is described as directing the tribe of Manasseh to
make its way by “ the goings down ” of the hill country, and appar-
ently to cross to the east of Jordan to establish itself there. The
current view is that Manasseh established itself first on the east of
Jordan, crossed west to help its brethren, and then returned to the
east side ; but there is distinct indication in the passage referred to
that the western settlement was made first. Those <e goings-down ”
have a very grim side to them in modern history. I think one
of the most appalling maps I know is Operation Map Ho. 45 in the
volume published by the Egyptian Expeditionary Field Force of
the rout of the 7th and 8th Turkish Armies in the break through
of the British troops in September, 1918. On that map are Ain
Shibieh, Ain-el-Beida and another place, marked as three heavily-
bombed areas. One of those lies in the Wady Farah ; the other
two lie in the Wady Maleh. I have read the description of what
that bombing meant. We were successful in upsetting lorries
and blocking the valleys early in the day, and then planes flew
backwards and forwards over the struggling mass of guns, horses
and men, discharging their death-dealing cargoes until those two
valleys were a scene of carnage unspeakable. Those are “ the
goings down 99 of Manasseh that are referred to in the story of
Joshua to which I am referring.
128
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING'
Now the stele of Seti I tells that the ££ men of Hamath and
Pahel combined to shut up Rehob.” Pahel is on the east of Jordan ;
Hamath seems to be the tell of el-Hammeh, which lies about ten
miles south of Beisan. One reason for urging an archaeological
survey of Palestine is that two years ago I spent a weary morning
there with Professor Garstang while he was investigating that
mound to find it was a Bronze Age site. El-Hammeh may be taken
as Hamath of the Seti stele. And then you have the description
of three Divisions of the Egyptian Army (Amen, Ra and Sutekh)
who were sent to Hamath, Bethshan and Yenoam to block the
fords across the Jordan, and to prevent the coalition between
Hamath on one side and Pahel on the other, which may well have
represented the gradual filtering of the tribe of Manasseh back
to the east of Jordan from its first conquered territory to the west.
I want to remind you that Professor Sir George Adam Smith has
pointed out that Gilead, the part Manasseh held, has always been
more conveniently governed from the west of Jordan than the
east.
If all Bronze Age sites, all sites with ancient remains, were
marked on a map according to the age with which they could be
recognised, it would be of great service to those who are working
in the country ; and it is one of those pieces of work which this
Pund might well undertake as assisting in laying the foundations of
true archaeological knowledge of the country as a whole.
Now I want to remind you that Tell Hammeh, if it has any
meaning, implies volcanic action, for I take it that the name means
hot springs. I saw no signs of hot springs when I visited it, but
on the geological map lava beds are shown close by, and that reminds
us of the background of volcanic action which lies behind some
of the early stories of the Old Testament. Pere Mallon, in his
excavation at Tuleilat Ghussul, about three miles to the north-east
of the Dead Sea, discovered a site which came to an untimely end
by fire about the middle of the Early Bronze Age, about b.c. 2100,
and that seems to link itself on very closely with the story of the
££ Cities of the Plain ” which play a prominent part in the story of
the Patriarch Abraham. Some of you must have read in the
Quarterly Statement , about a year and a half ago, that extraordinarily
interesting suggestion of Canon PhythiamAdams, based on researches
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING.
129
by Professor Musil, the Austrian Professor who before the War
became blood brother to the Adwan, and was able to get about
east of J ordan in the way that few others have done, and to reach
the site of the “ harrahs,” or lava fields, on the ridge running down
the Gulf of Akaba, that the “ pillar of cloud by day and the pillar
of fire by night ” was the smoke of an active volcano. An extinct
volcano exists on that spot to which, as the Mount of God, Moses
may have directed the people, Jebal Tadra is still one which the
Bedouin refuse to allow their flocks to draw near, because they
have a legend that many beasts were destroyed when they
approached that spot in days gone by. There you have another
suggestion as to the volcanic background which may lie behind
some of the stories of the Old Testament.
The other matter to which I want to draw attention before
I bring this discourse to an end is the statement in The Times
on 11th June, that in the Wady al-Mughar, just east of Athllt, in
the smallest of the three caves excavated, the Magharet es-Sukhul,
there were discovered by Mr. MacCown eight skeletons of a new
species of man. I think we can leave Sir Arthur Keith and Professor
Elliot Smith to fight out among themselves whether it was a new
species or a new genus : there has since been vigorous correspondence
in The Tmies on the point. But when the Galilee skull was dis-
covered in Wady Hamam, in 1925, and assigned to Neanderthal
man, certain peculiar features were noted in it, and though the
evidence then was not sufficient to point definitely to another
species, the discovery of these new skeletons in the Magharet es-
Sukhul has made it quite plain that a new species of man, not
Homo sapiens, but one of the earlier races of man, has been brought
to light in Palestine. I cannot help thinking that some of those who
founded the Palestine Exploration Fund would have rubbed their
eyes if they had been told that as a result of such work skeletons
of a race dating back 15,000 to 20,000 years would be discovered
in a Palestinian valley.
My last point is this : the fact of the discovery of these skeletons
belonging to this race with its Mousterian culture, which apparently
dates back to the last glacial period (Wiirm) and reminds us of the
extraordinary variation of climate in the early stages of the world’s
development, should give some reason to the further consideration
130
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING.
of that extraordinarily interesting theory put out by Mr. Ellsworth
Huntington some years ago, in his book The Transformation of
Palestine , of a pulsatory alternation in the climate. There were
those great periods of glaciation and the inter-glacial periods to
which the last discovery to which I have referred belongs ; but
they can scarcely be supposed to have come wholly to an end. In
fact, I think even we ourselves in our recent experience may be
ready to admit that we have passed through a glacial and pluvial
period 1 But I think not enough attention has been paid to the
very careful evidence which Mr. Ellsworth Huntington has given
of the converging lines of the raised beaches on the Dead Sea, the
extraordinary extent of civilization east of Jordan, where there
is now not sufficient water to maintain a population, and one or two
other like indications of alternating desiccation and humidity.
I think that suggestion is worthy of more consideration than it has
so far, apparently, received.
I promised I would be discursive. I did not promise that
I would not be too long, but I have tried to leave time — and I
hope I have done so — for the more solid fare which is to follow,
and which will be concentrated on certain points. I think I ought
to thank the audience for the patience with which it has listened
to me, and to say that the work which the Palestine Exploration
Fund has done in the course of the sixty-eight years of its existence
is evidence not merely of the richness of the material on which
work has been done, but of the extraordinary skill and ability of the
various people who have set themselves to the task.
Mr. G. M. Fitzgerald then gave details of the excavations
at Beisan.
(See the more formal account of his work, below, pp. 138/jf.)
Sir Frederic Kenyon read reports from Mr. Crowfoot on the
excavation at Samaria : —
(See below, p. 132.)
Sir Flinders Petrie proposed a hearty vote of thanks to
the Bishop of Rochester for presiding, to Sir Frederic Kenyon
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING.
131
and Mr. Fitzgerald for the accounts they had given, and also to the
Society of Antiquaries for the use of the meeting room.
This was seconded by Mr. Bowman and carried amid hearty
applause, whereupon the Chairman, in returning thanks, said :
I regard it as a great privilege to have been allowed to take the
Chair, and not least to be the recipient of a vote of thanks moved by
that veteran of archaeology, Sir Flinders Petrie, and seconded by
Mr. Bowman.
The proceedings then terminated.
132
RECENT DISCOVERIES OF THE JOINT EXPEDITION TO
SAMARIA.
(In which Harvard University , The Palestine Exploration Fund,
The Hebrew University, and the British School of Archaeology in
Jerusalem are associated .)
By J. W. Crowfoot, C.B.E., M.A., F.S.A.
Excavations at Samaria were resumed in the middle of March*
and much new light has been thrown on the wonderful fortifications
of the Israelite period and the precision with which they were
planned. Samaria was the capital of Israel just when the temporal
power of Israel counted for most among the surrounding nations,
and the massive walls are striking witnesses to the wealth and
advanced civilization of the time. Very few small objects, however*
were found until last week, when some splendid fragments of ivory
were discovered.
The fragments which have been disengaged up to date — there
are many more already in sight — include two crouching lions in
the round of exquisite workmanship, some 4.5 cm. high, and a
number of small panels in relief. Some of these panels are decorated
with figures which are derived from the Egyptian pantheon, among
them Ra, the Sun god, holding a figure of Maat, the goddess of Truth*
the infant Horus, Isis and Nephthis, and Hah, the personification
of Eternity, with the emblem which signifies thousands of years, but
on the same panels are patterns and details which suggest that the
craftsman was not an Egyptian, a suggestion which is strengthened
by the complete absence of hieroglyphics. Another panel in
pierced relief which represents a bull being mauled by a lion is more
reminiscent of Mesopotamian or Anatolian work, as are two others
which represent winged Cherubim. Yet others have decorative
patterns, bands of lotus flowers and buds, and complicated designs
of the sacred tree type like those in the archaic art of Cyprus and
other places. One piece has an early Aramaic letter on the back.
The workmanship especially on the decorative pieces is rather
uneven, but that of the best fragments is very fine, and there are
Palestine Exploration Fund .
Plate L
Samaria : Carved Ivories.
*<r
Palestine Exploration Punch
Plate III .
Samaria : Carved Ivories.
SAMARIA - SEBASTE
PLAN OF ANCIFNT BUILDINOS
RECENT DISCOVERIES OF THE JOINT EXPEDITION TO SAMARIA. 133
traces of gold foil and blue inlay on some panels. A large number of
the fragments show traces of burning.
In style the whole group is very closely related to a series of
ivories which were discovered in 1928 at Arslan Tash near Carchemish
by a French expedition under the direction of M. Thureau-Dangin.
Several of the North Syrian ivories came from the decoration of a
bed, and an inscription proved that this bed belonged originally to
Haguel, the king of Damascus in the 9th Century. In the examples
from Samaria, Egyptian influences are rather more prominent, and
the workmanship seems to us more delicate, but both groups
obviously proceed from the same school or workshop. M. Thureau-
Dangin compares the Arslan Tash group with some ivories found by
Layard at Nineveh.
The date of the ivories from Arslan Tash is fixed by epigraphic
evidence : at Samaria no inscription has yet been found, but the
content of the find points precisely to the same period. The stratum
in which our ivories were discovered is full of Israelite potsherds of the
eighth and ninth centuries b.c., and it lies within a few centimetres of
the rock, between Israelite foundations in the palace enclosure on the
summit of the hill. The western portion of this enclosure was
excavated more than twenty years ago by the Harvard expedition
and a few ivories like those of the much larger group which has just
come to light were then discovered by Dr. Reisner, one of his being
associated with a vase fragment bearing the cartouche of Osorkon
(880-850 b.c.) which proved that it belonged to the great Israelite
period. Various buildings in the west part of this area were
tentatively identified by the Harvard expedition with Omri, Ahab,
and Jeroboam II, but only the order and approximate date of these
buildings could be established, not their attribution to any particular
king. Our finds have been made about one hundred metres north
east of the “ Osorkon 53 house, and it is possible that the greatest of all
the palaces, perhaps even the “ ivory house J> of Ahab, lay in our
region. We hope to learn more about this in the next few weeks ;
meanwhile it is certain that the ivories come from the furnishings of
palaces such as those which were denounced by Amos. It would
be difficult to imagine a more vivid illustration of Amos* text.
May 30th, 1932.
134
THE JOINT SAMARIA EXPEDITION.
Proposals pop 1933.
By J. W. Crowfoot.
At all periods the principal buildings in Samaria stood on a
single central ridge, around which the walls of the city ran. The
area enclosed by the walls varied at different times. On the lower
slopes of the ridge the line of the outer walls in the Roman period is
still visible on three sides of the site ; toward the east and south-east
it has disappeared. On the summit at least two series of walls
belonging to the Israelite and Hellenistic periods have been
discovered, again on three sides only ; the line of these walls on the
east and north-east has still to be traced. Intermediate between the
lines above mentioned there are fragmentary indications that other
concentric lines of walling once ran. No comprehensive picture of
the ancient city or its history can be drawn until we have established
the limits of the walled area at different periods as well as the disposi-
tion and character of the main buildings within these limits.
These are the considerations which have guided us in planning the
work of the Joint Expedition during the past two seasons. The
principal objectives of the present season were communicated in a
report presented last year] (see [Quarterly Statement , January, 1932),
and these have been either carried out or are now in process of being
carried out. They are : —
1. On the south side of the summit or palace area we have
followed the so-called Omri-Scarp to the east (Dg- 1). Our intention
was to trace it until it turned north and then proceed along it ;
actually we have now followed it 128 metres east of the most easterly
point reached by Reisner, and the turn is not yet certainly in sight.
The area enclosed by the supposed palace walls now measures well
over 200 metres from east to west, and it is doubtful whether this
area should not be more appropriately called the acropolis. In the
course of our work a very remarkable type of massive walling which
may perhaps be connected with Ahab has been found immediately
below the e Omri ” scarp in Dg and Die. We have also come upon
THE JOINT SAMAKIA EXPEDITION.
135
further sections of the post-Israelite Port- Wall identified by Reisner
ns a wall of the Babylonio- Greek period.
2. Still farther to the east in Z we have followed the supposed
■city wall found in 1931 south-west of the threshing floor ; unlike the
“ Omri-Wall/’ which proceeds in a perfectly straight line, this wall
followed the natural contour of the original rock, which makes it the
more difficult to follow. We propose to look for its continuation
immediately east of the church in the course of June, 1932.
3. On the north side of the summit a further section of the
Israelite palace enclosure wall has been cleared in Qc ; this section
contained six casemates similar in character to those found by us
under the corridor in Qb last year, and by Reisner farther west. On
the slopes immediately north of Qb the substructures of the north-east
corner of the precinct of the Augusteum have been excavated ; the
great scale of the work is evident, and it is now plain that there were
no steps approaching it from the north as was previously supposed.
The small finds in this area have included a fine Hellenistic bronze
figure and a good Persian sealing.
4. The area on the summit between the enclosure walls mentioned
in the previous paragraphs is being methodically cleared. Work
here is necessarily slow, but it has been rewarded by the discovery of
some splendid ivories and other interesting fragments.
5. In the church the south side of the narthex has been
excavated, and the work here is completed.
6. In the so-called Hippodrome (our S)> work has been started
south of the plastered room discovered last year. This room has
already been traced for about ten metres, but the plaster has not yet
been cleaned. Three or four statues of the Roman period belonging
to the Kor e-cult have been unearthed. Work also at the south end
of this building will be started immediately.
7. The Roman tomb, partly cleared in the autumn, has been
completely excavated, and work is proceeding in other tombs
nearby.
136
THE JOINT SAMARIA EXPEDITION,
In 1933 it is suggested that the following objectives be attacked :
I. The east side of the palace enclosure must be found unless it is
reached before the present season ends.
II. The work on the summit between the walls should be
continued in the hopes of learning more about the plan and disposi-
tion of the Israelite palace buildings. Work here, though tedious
owing to the amount of late buildings above the Israelite strata, has
already proved very remunerative, and its continuation gives the
best hope for discovering more ostraca or other inscriptions.
III. The line of the north city wall in the Israelite period still
remains to be found. The work of the last two seasons has
eliminated a possible stretch of land from Qb to T, and it will now be
necessary to make a series of soundings on likely lines north of T in
order to solve this question.
IV. No work has yet been carried out on the columned street
which ran in Boman times along the south side of the hill from the'
West gate to the site of the modern village, and it is proposed to
make soundings here in at least two -places, one near the west gate,,
and the other south of the B-Z area.
V. In the older plans a site for a theatre is shown on low ground
to the north-west, but no remains are visible here, and air photo-
graphs suggest that another site on the north side of the hill about
midway between the Basilica and the Augusteum is quite as likely
to have been that of the theatre. It would seem worth while to
make soundings at least in both these places ; in the latter a sounding
may reveal the north-east comer of the palace enclosure.
VI. The plan of the forum is still uncertain towards the east end,,
and it is desirable also to follow farther the fine Boman conduit
found last autumn. This should be combined with the completion
of the clearance of the Basilica, of which our predecessors uncovered
about two-thirds. It may be difficult, however, to carry out these
works except in an autumn campaign as we can dig on the forum site-
only after threshing is over.
VII. There are traces of tombs on every side of the hill, and
more of these should be examined as occasion permits.
THE JOINT SAMARIA EXPEDITION.
137
%
Originally it was hoped that in three seasons we should be able
to clear up most of the major problems left by the earlier expedition.
These hopes have been partially fulfilled, but the area of the city
as so large that it is obvious that several more seasons could be
profitably devoted to work here. It is submitted that whereas there
are now four major expeditions at work in Palestine on sites of the
middle and Late Bronze ages (Beisan, Balata, Megiddo, and Tell
Ajjul), Samaria is the greatest site where much work is profitable on
the later periods including especially the age of the monarchy. The
finds' already made in Samaria by the two expeditions, namely the
ostraca found by the first expedition and the ivories found this
season, have been so remarkable, that the justification for further
work beyond the original period of three seasons seems obvious, and
it is to be hoped that there will be no difficulty in obtaining the means
to insure this.
May 31st, 1932.
138
EXCAVATIONS AT BETH-SHAN IN 1931.
By G. M. FitzGerald, M.A., Field Director .
The ninth season of excavation at Beth-shan (the modern
Beisan) on behalf of the Museum of the University of Pennsylvania*
was carried on during the last four months of 1931. 1 Two quite
distinct areas of the principal mound, Tell el-Hosn, were excavated,
viz., at the north-west of the summit, part of the Early Iron Age
buildings of Level V, 2 including the remains of a Gate Tower, below
which an important structure was brought to light on Level VI
(temp. Seti I, c. 1300 b.c.), and, secondly, an area further to the
south-east lying partly below the Temple of the god Mekal — the
southern Temple of the time of Thotbmes III (1501-1447 B.c.)
which had been cleared by Mr. Rowe. 3
During the earlier part of the season further excavations in the
cemetery on the north side of the river Jalud were carried on con-
currently with the 'work on the Tell.
I. Levels V and VI on Tell el-Hosn.
At the close of the 1930 season our excavations had come upon
fragments of a limestone lintel bearing the cartouches of Rameses III
(1204-1172 B.c.) lying at the eastern edge of the Tell below the
stone foundations of a room belonging to Level V. This find proves
that some, at any rate, of the buildings of this level cannot be earlier
than the twelfth century b.c., but leaves the precise dating of
Level V as a whole a very open question. 4 A search for further
fragments of this lintel was made in 1931, but none were found.
Work meanwhile was being carried on in a series of rooms lying
westward of those excavated in the previous season. Their walls
1 For an account of the preceding season, 1930, see Q.S., April, 1931, pp. 59
sqq.
2 The levels are numbered successively from the topmost (Arab) level
downwards.
3 A. Rowe, Q.S., 1928, pp. 73 sqq. ; 1929, pp. 78 sqq.
4 This discovery waB made too late to be used by Professor A. T. Olmstead,
in whose History of Palestine and /Syria (1931), pp. 222 sqq., the buil din gs of
Level V are still attributed to Rameses II.
EXCAVATIONS AT BETH- SHAN IN 1931.
139
were of the same mud-brick, but differed in one respect from those
of the rooms at the east ; instead of being built up on foundation
courses of large stones and of partly baked bricks, they scarcely
went down below the floor-level of the rooms, and in some instances
actually rested on the plaster flooring. Immediately to the south
another small series of rooms afforded a complete contrast, having
very massive foundations going down to an exceptionally low level,
and consisting partly of half-baked bricks and partly of black mud
containing decayed vegetable matter, with courses of big stones
beneath. These deep foundations are accounted for by the presence
of a large refuse-pit which we found in the level below these rooms,
whereas the walls without stone foundations were directly above
a very substantial building on Level VI, which is described hereafter.
Towards the northern edge of the summit, again, we found very
large boulders used as foundations, and one cannot help feeling
astonished at the thought of the labour involved in bringing them
up to this level. It is no doubt possible that they had been frequently
re-used and even that they had originally formed part of a defensive
wall or glacis. In passing it may be observed as a remarkable fact
that no fortification wall has yet been found on the Tell below
the Byzantine level.
Continuing to work westward, we came to some buildings which
had been partly excavated in previous seasons . 5 These stood at
the north-western corner of the summit, at the point which afforded
the easiest access from the western slope of the Tell. It had long
been apparent that the remains of a gateway, flanked on its northern
side by a tower, were to be found at this corner of the summit, but
there still remained a quantity of debris to be removed before the
foundations of the tower could be cleared. On the south side of the
gateway the walls of Level V had been destroyed by buildings of
the Roman and later periods, and it must remain doubtful whether 1
so substantial a structure as a southern gate-tower corresponding
to the one at the north could have disappeared so completely. At
the western end of the gateway all traces of Level V had been swept
5 A. Howe, Museum Journal 'V v March, 1929, pp. 71 sqq. (with
a plan showing a conjectural ■ a complete gateway with two*
flanking towers).
140
EXCAVATIONS AT BETH-SHAN IN 1931.
away in llie course of rebuilding on the western slope, which is
still covered by remains of Byzantine and Arab walls. 6
The most noticeable characteristic of the gateway was the
construction of its walls, which were of limestone masonry, whereas
all the other buildings of Level V are of mud-brick. 7 The stone wall
at the south of the gate tower could be followed for about nine
metres along the northern side of the entrance, which was apparently
not a chariot-way, since it terminated towards the east in a flight
of three steps leading down to the floor-level of the buildings on the
summit. These steps were built up against a limestone wall, the
eastern face of which, when cleared down to its foundations after
the removal of the steps, is shewn in Kg. 1. On its northern and
western sides the gate-tower had been cut into by later buildings
(as shown in Fig. 2) with the result that nothing remained but a
mass of half -burnt clay foundation, upon which two small brick
towers had originally stood and along the eastern side of which
ran a narrow chamber or corridor about twelve metres long with
walls of mud-brick resting on one course of masonry. The whole
edifice was built on a sort of platform of comparatively small rough
stones.
The character of the limestone masonry is of considerable
interest, from its resemblance to that of the Israelite walls at
Samaria, some of which are illustrated in the last two numbers of
the QjS. 8 The drafting of the stones along only two or three edges
of the face, is a feature common to both sites ; it would appear
that at Megiddo also irregular drafting of much the same character
is to be found in the stables attributed to the reign of Solomon,
in the tenth century B.C. 9 This method may, obviously, have been
in use for a long period, and does not afford any precise evidence
whereby to date our gateway. It is to be observed, however, that in
close proximity to the limestone wall, and slightly below the level
of the bottom step, we found several brownish-red potsherds
decorated with concentric circles in black, of a well-known Cypriote
6 See Betli-shan Excavations , 1921-1923 1 ^31), Plate VI.
Our gateway lay almost directly below the line « ■ ' { Street, a little
to the north of the Arab approach to the Summit of the Tell.
7 A few blocks of limestone have been found built into walls of this level a b
some distance from the gateway.
s Jan., 1932, Plate II ; April, 1932, Plate III.
9 P. L. 0. Guy, Oriental Inst. Communications , No. 9 (Chicago, 1931), Pig. 31,
EXCAVATIONS AT BETH -SHAN IN 1931.
Ml
ware which has been found elsewhere on Level V. It is not necessary
to adopt the view that this ware belongs to so late a date as the
eighth century B.C., and it may even be possible to assign its appear-
ance to the threshold of the Iron Age, 10 but the presence of these
fragments disposes one to believe that this gateway cannot be
earlier than the eleventh century, and may have been in use after
Beth -shan had fallen into the hands of the Israelites, and when
it formed part of Solomon's dominions. Against this we must set
the existence on the same level of two temples adorned with stelae
of Seti I and Rameses II and a statue of Rameses III, and containing
other objects suggestive of the Egyptian occupation. 11 The rest of the
pottery found on Level V in 1931 did not differ materially from
that which had appeared in previous seasons 12 ; fragments with a
red burnished surface were common, while painted decoration was
very sparingly employed. Very few objects of interest came from
this level ; amongst them were a Hittite seal with an obscure design,
a stone cylinder seal representing a man and a horned animal with
a tree between them, a faience amulet of Isis with the infant Horus,
and four scarabs. An intrusive find was a carnelian gem engraved
with a figure of Athene Parthenos holding a statuette of Victory
in her outstretched hand ; this small object must have slipped
through the interstices of the stone wall of the gateway, and probably
came from the Roman level above.
Immediately outside the gate-tower a small clearance was
made among the Arab and Byzantine houses on the western slope
of the Tell. A further short stretch of the paved street which
led up to the summit in the Byzantine period was uncovered,
running on the line which had been eonjeeturally indicated in
the plan accompanying the publication of the Arab and Byzantine
levels excavated in 1921-1923. Built into one of the late walls
we found a somewhat battered fragment of a Janus-headed Herm
and near it a stone base, which may have formed part of it, re-used
as a door-sill.
10 PtVre Vincent, Revue, Bihlique, April, 1932, pp. 277 sqq,, and Plate VIII,
Nos. 7-9.
11 Bo we and Vincent, Q.8., Jan., 1931, pp. 17 sqq. When their article was
written the available evidence seemed to indicate that these temples were
erected tinder Rameses II.
12 See “ The Four Canaunite Temples of Beth-shan, Part II, The Pottery ”
{1930), pp. 11 sqq., where Level V is termed u Rameses II level.”
L
142
EXCAVATIONS AT BETH-SHAN IN 1931.
We have already remarked upon the fact that some of the rooms
of Level V, east of the gateway, were destitute of the usual stone
wall-foundations. This peculiarity promised to simplify excavation,
and tempted us to investigate further, in case there should prove
to have been a rebuilding of Level V at this point. As it turned out,
we soon came upon a building on Level VI, for the complete clearance
of which we were obliged to destroy the gate-tower and to remove
massive stone foundations on each side of our selected area.
Level VI has hitherto been described as the Seti I Level, in
accordance with the evidence whereby the temple which stood
upon it could be attributed with practical certainty to the reign
of that Pharaoh (1313-1292 B.C.). 13 Nothing has been observed
in the course of the 1931 season to invalidate this dating ; but it
must be admitted that a series of fragmentary walls built overcome
of the Seti I rooms on what has been called the “ Late Seti Level ”
ought to be assigned to a somewhat later period. Amongst them
we found a flat seal bearing the name of Bameses II, Seti’s successor/
who reigned till 1225, and moreover a fragment of some iron imple-
ment was actually embedded in one of the walls, which may therefore
in all probability have been built very shortly before the time of
Bameses III. The walls themselves were insignificant, being of
mud -brick with small stone foundations resting almost immediately
on the floor-level of the Seti I buildings.
The main building found on Level VI is shown in Kg. 3 ; and
its western end, with some of the adjoining rooms (which lay below
the gate-tower) in Pig. 4. Its massive mud-brick walls, resting on
stone foundations, had been much ruined, but were everywhere
traceable, and the building-plan was made all the clearer by the
preservation of the limestone door^sills, of which no less than seven
were discovered in situ .
The building consisted of a main central hall, nearly square
(c. 8*8 X 8*2 metres interior measurements), with its slightly longer
axis from west to east, having a forecourt at the west and smaller
rooms on the other three sides.
In the forecourt there had been some rebuilding of the western
walls but, even so, a gap in the stone foundations indicated the
12 Museum Journal (Philadelphia), March, 1927, p. 25. Cartouches of
Raineses I were found amongst the temple foundation deposits.
EXCAVATIONS AT BETH-SHAN IN 1931.
143
line of approach from the lower slope of the Tell. Opposite this
gap was the main doorway leading into the central hall, with its
sill in position and part of a stone door-post still standing. Two
entrances with door-sills gave access to the forecourt, from north and
south. The southern entrance had been blocked up at a later
period, and its original plan is somewhat obscure, but it certainly
connected the forecourt with a room on the south side of the central
hall.
In the hall were two large stone bases, about 1*50 metres
diameter, standing side by side at an interval (from north to south)
of about 1 * 60 metres ; they were almost equidistant from the
east and west walls of the hall, and the space between them lay just
opposite the main entrance from the forecourt, so they were clearly
in situ , and had doubtless served as bases for columns (which were
perhaps of wood) supporting the roof. On the left of the main
entrance a breach had been made by a cistern which had been dug
down from a higher level, and had destroyed the walls at the north-
western corner of the hall. On the other side an oblong limestone
slab was found lying close up against the west wall ; it had been
slightly hollowed so as to leave a narrow edge all round, and had
three further depressions, or cup-marks, towards its southern end.
(This slab resembled one which lay on the altar base of the Temple
of Seti I, 14 and a third has been observed lying some distance to the
east of our building.) The southern end of the slab partly obstructed
an entrance with a door-sill, near the south-west corner of the hall,
leading in from a narrow corridor — or possibly a series of small
chambers — which ran along the south side of the building and at the
far end of which was yet another door-sill, indicating a way through
to a room on the east side of the building.
At the eastern end of the hall we uncovered a straight line of
wide stone foundations running north and south, but the wall
standing on them was somewhat narrower and not precisely on
the same alignment, showing that there must have been either some
rebuilding or a modification of the original plan. The space between
this wall and the exterior east wall of the building was only about
two metres wide, and was divided into two areas by a double cross-
wall, which would seem to be a later addition, as it was built up
14 Museum Journal (Philadelphia), December, 1925, p. 312.
144
EXCAVATIONS AT BETH-SHAN IN 1931.
against the plastered face of the west wall. The northern part of the
narrow area on the east side of the building contained two door-
ways, about two metres apart, with sills and posts remaining.
Between them there seems to have been an opening in the west
wall, leading into the central hall, but no door-sill was found in it.
At the south of the southern door-sill a large four-handled pot
was found buried in the ground ; the northern doorway led into
a small room at the north-west corner of the building in the middle
of which lay a small basalt column-base, which may or may not
have been in its original position. The outer wall of the building
on the east side stood on stone foundations which rose slightly
above the level of the two last-mentioned door-sills, a fact which
may have been concealed by a coating of plaster ; the wall itself,
of mud-brick, was not solid all through, but had compartments
in its thickness which, when excavated, were full of debris. On the
other side of a narrow passage running north and south were the
foundations of another wall, forming part of a building which had
been so completely ruined that it was impossible to recover its
plan.
On the north side of the central hall were two small rooms,
of which the more westerly had been partly destroyed by the late
cistern. The foundations of the outer wall on this side were piled
up to an exceptional height, and seemed to belong to a rebuilding
and raising of the northern wall ; they were lower opposite the
doorway leading into the western forecourt, but rose again further
west to carry the wall on along the north side of a complex of rooms
which we excavated at the western edge of the summit. This
area (which lay directly below the destroyed gate-tower of Level V)
seemed to contain only scanty remains of buildings properly belong-
ing to the period of Seti I, and excavations consequently went
down amongst rooms which we should probably assign to Level VII ;
in one of them was found a collection of pottery, including wish-bone-
handled bowls of Cypriote types. Further west again we came to
cuttings and well-shafts which were clearly of later date ; they
contained fragments of Byzantine pottery and rooms of that period
had been built immediately above them. The foundations of a
stone retaining wall — Hellenistic or Koman — had broken through
the walls of Level VI at the south-west of the main Seti I building,
and our excavations were carried no further in that direction.
EXCAVATIONS AT BETH-SHAN IN 1931 .
145
The most important find on this level was part of a door-jamb,
with a hieroglyphic inscription, which was lying in fragments at the
western entrance of the central hall. The inscription, shown in
Fig. 5, contains a mention of the city of Heliopolis, and is probably
part of an invocation to the Sun. Amongst the ruined walls at the
eastern end of the excavations we found fragments of a fluted
Egyptian cornice upon which traces of red and blue pigment were
still visible. On the whole, Level VI was rather poor in small
objects ; the most interesting of these was a glass plaque, unfor-
tunately broken, which was found in the foundations of the Seti I
building near its south-western corner. The plaque, originally about
47 millimetres square and 10 millimetres thick, is decorated in relief
with figures in the Babylonian style ; in the centre a bearded deity,
wearing a horned head-dress, stands facing outwards, a worshipper
is approaching on his left and between them a kid or gazelle is
standing on its hind legs ; there was probably a similar worshipper
on the other side, now broken off. The plaque is pierced by two
holes running from side to side.
II. Levels X A and X B on the Tell.
While our excavations were proceeding at the north-west of
the summit on Levels V and VI, a large proportion of our workmen
had been set to dig on a lower level towards the south-east. In
this area, which comprised the sites of the successive temples
excavated in previous seasons, the walls of Level IX, dating from
the time of Thothmes III, and including the Temple of Mekal,
were still standing. These buildings we in part destroyed in order
to begin the excavation of the underlying level. Directly below
the Thothmes Temple we found a layer of debris about a metre deep,
containing a considerable number of small objects of interest and
quantities of pottery. Below this filling were the wall -tops of a
lower level which we cleared, only to find that it consisted of a
number of small rooms, very much ruined, with another complex
of buildings immediately below them, of much the same character.
For convenience the designation 44 Level X A 35 was adopted for the
upper series of rooms, and “ Level X B 33 for the lower; but it must
not be assumed that a hard and fast line can be drawn between
them, as it would seem that there had been a continuous occupation
146
EXCAVATION'S AT BETH “SHAN IN 1931.
involving alterations and rebuildings at irregular intervals extending
over a period of several centuries. For the most part the rooms
were small, with thin mud-brick walls on a foundation of one or two
courses of stone, and it must be supposed that the houses were
very low, as otherwise there would certainly have been a greater
thickness of brick debris between successive building-levels. Fig. 6,
which represents part of Level X B, conveys an adequate idea of the
appearance of the rooms below the Thothmes Level. Below Level
X A we found a jar containing the bones of an infant, which had
evidently been buried under the floor of a house.
In spite of the fact that our excavations only reached a depth
of two or three metres in the south-eastern area, a very distinct
change in the character of the pottery was observable as we dug down.
In the filling immediately below the level of the Mekal Temple
fragments of painted vessels were exceedingly common, including
a number of bowls on high trumpet-shaped pedestals and large
pots with red and black decoration on the shoulder ; with them
were a few fragments of Cypriote milk-bowls. All these' are
characteristic also of the Eighteenth Dynasty levels, Thothmes and
Amenophis III, and probably belong to the later period of occupation
of Level X A, after about 1550 b.c. Amongst them we found a small
admixture of earlier — Middle Bronze Age — types, which became
more frequent as we went down, till in Level X B they predominated
to the exclusion of the Late Bronze Age wares. Some of the buildings
of Level X A, if not all, may therefore belong to the Hyksos period,
and it is possible that the foundations of Level X B go back to the
earliest century of the Middle Bronze Age, about 1900 b.c. if we
may judge from the presence of a few flat-bottomed ledge handled
jars, and of some specimens of a highly burnished ware, red on the
interior and black on the exterior of the vessels, which seem to
resemble certain finds from Khirbet Kerak (at the southern end
of the Sea of Galilee), dating from the beginning of the second
millennium if not earlier. 15
The Middle Bronze Age pottery included jars, jugs with handles
on the shoulder, juglets and deep bowls of more or less carinated
shape ; many of the last-named stood on three loop feet. Several
16 Albright, Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research , VI, at p. 28.
EXCAVATIONS AT BETH-SHAN IN 1931.
117
fragments of footed bowls were covered with a white slip highly
polished. All the lamps below the Thothmes level were of an early
type, none having a pronounced spout. At a low level were
fragments of hole-mouthed pots, with spout and handle, also of
black cooking-pots with rope-pattern decoration of notched bands.
Among small objects scarabs were conspicuous in Level X A,
but were scarcely to be found at the lower level, in which, however,
there were a number of Syro-Hittite cylinder seals. The scarabs
found in the course of the season's excavations are shown in Fig. 7,
most of them being from the filling below the Thothmes III level,
including one which forms the bezel of a bronze ring. Bronze
objects included a socketed spear-head and several tanged broad-
bladed daggers ; a small bronze figurine was found adhering to the
blade of an adze. Alabaster was a common material, in the forms
of knobs or mace-heads and of small pots, many of which had a hole in
the bottom and would seem to have been spoilt in the process of
manufacture. A small egg-shaped pot of blue faience decorated
with a leaf pattern in black was found in Level X A, and is illustrated
in Fig. 8.
III. The Cemetery.
Concurrently with the excavations on the Tell work was carried
on during the earlier part of the season in the Cemetery on the
opposite (north) bank of the river Jalud. This was a continuation,
in an easterly direction, of the work of the preceding season
(described in the Q.S., April, 1931), it would therefore be superfluous
to describe the general character of this excavation. As before the
tombs cleared were mainly of the “ loculus ” type, dating from the
Roman period, but we did find one circular tomb of the Early Bronze
Age in good preservation, containing a globular ledge-handled jar
and a bronze dagger of the ribbed “ Cypriote ” type, quite unlike the
later forms found on the Tell. In several instances early tombs had
been destroyed by later ones and existed only as pits in the floors of
Roman tombs with loculi. One of these is seen in Fig. 9, a photo-
graph which also presents a good example of the manner in which
tombs had been dug one above the other, with the result that the
floor of the upper one had collapsed into the lower.
148
EXCAVATION'S AT BETH- SHAN DITBI3STG 1931.
Most of these loculus tombs had been thoroughly pillaged by
tomb-robbers, but from two of them we obtained fine collections of
glass together with numerous gold earrings and lamps, and ivory pins,
of which several had carved heads, one representing a helmeted
warrior, another in the form of a hand. The glass vases from a
single loculus of one of these tombs are shewn in Fig. 10 ; from the
evidence of coins they can be dated to the fourth century, and it may
be noted that some of the lamps in the same tomb are decorated
with the cross.
One of our workmen having reported the accidental find of a
mosaic pavement at some distance to the east of the Cemetery, we
made a small clearance which resulted in the discovery of a broken
inscription (Fig. 11) recording the foundation of a monastery. The
ends of the lines being lost its meaning is obscure, but the year 585
is mentioned, which gives us the approximate date, though we cannot
be certain whether the era employed should be reckoned from about
64 b.g., or from 47 b.c.
149
A THIRD SEASON AT JERICHO *
CITY AND NECROPOLIS.
By Professor John Garstang, D.Sc., etc.
Three years ago, when Sir Charles Marston first enabled me to
re-examine the site of Jericho, several problems of peculiar import-
ance to students of Bible history were still awaiting solution. The
earlier excavations, while throwing new light upon the archaeology
of the ancient city, indeed upon the culture of Canaan as a whole,
had left the dating of several lines of defensive walls and ramparts
in considerable doubt and a subject for technical discussion. One
expert frankly stated his opinion that during the late Bronze Age
(c. 1600-1200 B.c.), the period which under any theory should cover
the entry of the Israelites into Canaan, the city of Jericho already lay
in ruins.
Our first season’s work found the solution of this initial difficulty.
A stout wall of brick that lay along the western brink of the mound
was seen in various unexcavated places to be overlaid by the remains
of a second wall, following the same line. With this was associated
a thinner screen wall of the same material. The stratification and
details of evidence were examined and enabled us at the time to state
a definite and agreed conclusion.
The main defences of Jericho in the late Bronze Age (c. 1600“
1200 b.c.), followed the upper brink of the city mound, and comprised
two parallel walls, the outer 6ft. and the inner 12ft. thick. Investiga-
tions along the west side show continuous signs of destruction and
conflagration. The outer wall suffered most, its remains falling
down the slope. The inner wall is preserved only where it abuts
upon the citadel or tower to a height of 18ft. ; elsewhere it is found
largely to have fallen, together with the remains of buildings
upon it, into the space between the walls which was filled with ruins
and debris. Traces of intense fire are plain to see, including reddened
♦Reprinted by kind permission from The Times, May 12th, 1932.
150
A THIRD SEASON AT JERICHO.
masses of brick, cracked stones, charred timbers, and ashes. Houses
alongside the wall are found burned to the ground, their roofs fallen
upon the domestic pottery within.
There remained the question of the date when the walls and city
were destroyed. In my own opinion, based upon a detailed examina-
tion of the stratifications related to the outer wall, this had probably
taken place about 1400 b.c., the culture being that of the late Bronze
Age before the infiltration of Mykenaean wares. Our second season
was devoted largely to this problem, and led us to examine another
unexcavated area overlooking the spring on the eastern side. There,
also, came to light further traces of conflagration and destruction ;
and several burned-out store-rooms of an extensive building yielded
a welcome series of pottery types, the date of which would help
materially to decide the matter. But at this stage, again, technical
questions arose. Criteria for the precise dating of the pottery types
were wanting, and to this end we determined to search for the
necropolis in the hope of finding dated groups. In this quest we
have not been disappointed.
The third season’s work has been rewarded by results of unusual
interest and value. Foremost may be placed the archseological
materials recovered from the Bronze Age tombs. These were
located in unbroken ground some 400 yards westward from the city
mound, and they proved to be practically intact. In all 25 have
been opened and cleared. They yielded 1,800 registered objects,
mostly pottery vases, of which some 1,500 were in good condition
and several hundreds without a flaw. Many of the specimens are
new to the corpus of Palestinian types, while quite a number can
claim a measure of artistic merit which throws new light upon the
standard of Canaanitish culture.
The deposits cover the whole range of the Bronze Age down to
1400 B.c-., the later groups being dated by royal Egyptian scarabs ;
they represent the various phases in the life of the city already
recognized in our earlier explorations. The deep levels of the early
Bronze Age in the mound are still largely beyond our reach, but
here and there trenches or denuded spots have enabled us to trace
the line of a protecting wall of this period, apparently the earliest of
the site.
A THIRD SEASON AT JERICHO.
151
In the early part of the Middle Bronze Age, estimated elsewhere
from Egyptian analogies to fall about 2000 b.c., the site was enclosed
by a stout wall of large unbaked bricks which followed the brink of
the mound, and enclosed an area of about seven acres. A strong
tower, 60ft. in length, protected the gateway and the approaches
to the spring on the eastern side. It contained three deep chambers
in which we found helpful stratified deposits. A room at the foot
of the tower gave us a finely carved hull's head in darkened ivory
{4 *75 ems. in height) in which again may lie detected a Babylonian
feeling.
The known pottery types of this period, hitherto limited though
distinctive, have been greatly augmented by the recovery of nearly
800 specimens from the first tomb discovered in the necropolis. The
pottery is distinguished by its variety of form, ranging from pointed
juglets to standing vases with small side handles.
The Hyhsos Period.
In the second part of the Middle Bronze Age, which covers the
Hyksos period in Egypt (c. 1800-1600 b.c.) the city underwent a
notable expansion. Already, in the preceding phase, houses had
been creeping outside the walls down the slopes of the mound, which
was now surrounded by a massive rampart. This comprised a
glacis of great rough-hewn stones, an upper defensive parapet of
brick, and an outer fosse ; and the area enclosed was about 10 acres
in extent. Local prosperity now attained its zenith, a fact clearly
seen in the furniture of the newly excavated tombs. Pottery became
more elegant in form, and more varied in design. Plastic art, of
which examples are rare in the Bronze Age, is represented by a
unique rhyton. This is a pedestal vase of local ware and form,
modelled externally to represent the head of a bearded man and
almost life size. So far as I am aware no similar specimens are
extant. The Phaistos rhyton, which belongs to the same age, differs
in that the hairs are indicated by points of paint, while in this case
they are represented by pinholes.
The transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age culture is
not well defined in the ceramic series, nor is it marked by any sudden
change. It is true that the defences of the city, after the partial
152
A THIRD SEASON AT JERICHO.
destruction, of its outer ramparts, retreated to the old lines upon the
brink of the mound, while in the necropolis the grotto tombs gave
way to simple graves from one to two yards deep. Otherwise the
local arts were continuous, though bearing witness to a certain
deterioration ; and we may assume that whatever punishment was
inflicted on the city by the Pharaohs at the close of the Hyksos
regime, the local population returned in part to the old site and
resumed their former customs. Burial was still carried out by
inhumation, for the most part in family or common graves, some of
which were found filled with offerings and the debris of human
remains to within a few inches of the surface. One tomb dated in
its fourth layer to the joint reigns of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III
containing more than 500 vases and the traces of more than 50
burials. The lowest levels show no traces of Egyptian influence,
which thus makes itself felt in Jericho for the first time about
1500 b.c. It was apparently only at this time that the Pharaohs’
rule became effective in the lower valley of the Jordan.
Thereafter the XVth century b.c. is well represented ; the
“ bil-bil 55 wares of Cyprus and their imitations made their appear-
ance, as in Egypt, at this time ; but there is a conspicuous absence
of Mykenaean products and the distinctive art of the Tell-el-Amarna
period. The series of scarabs, of which 94 were recovered from the
various layers of these tombs, ends with the reign of Amenhetep III.
They have been examined independently by Professor Newberry,
who kindly travelled from Cairo for the purpose, and in his expert
opinion they range through the Hyksos period into the early part
of the XVIIIth Dynasty ; but comprise no specimens of the period
from Akhenaton (Amenhetep IV) to Ramses II, inclusive of s both
those reigns. The evidence from the tombs thus all points to an
interruption in the life of Jericho in the age of Amenhetep III. The
Bronze Age city of Jericho perished at some date after 1411 and
before 1375 b.c.
The Iron Age .
The next definite trace of occupation brings us to the Iron Age,
about 1200 b.c., and in this respect the evidence from the city and
the necropolis is also in agreement. Overlying and by the side of
the palace area of the Bronze Age lies a well-marked stratum of the
A THIRD SEASON AT JERICHO.
153
early Iron Age ; its special features are a cobble-paved street ascend-
ing in steps to the top of the mound, and the foundations of a
considerable building with stout walls of stone. Most instructive
was a scarab showing a northern deity, a type of Hadad, standing
upon the back of an animal, like the consort of the Mother-Goddess
at Hierapolis Syriae. It appears probable from these indications
that one of the Pharaohs, presumably Ramses III, established on
the mound over the spring an outpost of northern mercenaries
(Sherdens, or Philistines, or maybe Hittites), whose burial practices
differed so radically from those of the old population ; and if the
scarab bearing the name of Thutmose III found in the same pit
prove to belong to that king’s reign (of which there may be a doubt)
it would appear that such a garrison had been installed when the
city was first annexed.
The outer fortifications of the city, however, remained in ruins
throughout this period ; and so far as our investigations have
proceeded they were not restored until the second phase of the Iron
Age, about 900 B.c., after which there is abundant trace of renewed
activity and occupation, lasting, though fitfully, to the Byzantine
epoch.
The work this season, as in the past, was done entirely by voluntary
helpers, the repairing and general supervision in the camp and
storerooms by my wife, photography and surveys by Mr. Harold
Falconer, superintendence in the city work by Dr. Aage Schmidt,
paintings by Mr. H. B. Gray, drawings by Boulos Eff. Araj and Miss
Mabel Ratcliffe, registration and records by Mile. J. Krausse, and
the cataloguing by my daughter Meroe. Sir Charles Marston, the
constant patron of these researches, was generously seconded on
this occasion by Mr. Davies Bryan, in the interests of the University
Museum, Aberystwyth. Other collaborating institutions were the
Musees du Louvre, the University of Liverpool, which I represent,
and the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society. The series of
antiquities accruing to the expedition will be deposited in these
several institutions, the first selection remaining in the Palestine
Museum, Jerusalem.
Full illustrated reports on these excavations are appearing in
the current numbers of the Liverpool University Annals of
Archceology .
154
THE HAS ESH-SHAMRA TABLETS.
By J. P. ISTaish, DJD.
The story of the finds at Ras Shamra has already been published
fairly widely. It is not attempted here to do more than summarize
the history of the excavation up to the present date, and mention
some of the results and deductions which have emerged or been
suggested. Ras esh-Shamra (Cape Fennel) is the southern horn
of the bay of Minet el-Baida (White Haven) on the far north of the
Syrian coast, above the famous port of Latakia, so well-known to
students of the Crusades. Here a peasant, ploughing on the
promontory in March, 1928, struck his share point against the
edge of a stone slab. This, being turned up, proved to have
covered a hollow with steps leading down to the door of a beehive-
shaped tomb whose pointed top lay just below the surface of the soil.
The find was reported to the local French authorities, who in
turn communicated with the distinguished Assyriologist, M. Ch.
Yirolleaud, director of antiquities at Beyrouth. M. Virolleaud
sent M. Leon Alban ese to report on the site, and soon afterwards
visited it himself, recovering a bowl and platter of Cypriote-
Mycenean pattern and 13th-12th century ware, similar to those
found at Enkomi (Salamis) in Cyprus. In the following year
MM. Schaeffer and Chenet of Strasbourg University were commis-
sioned to begin an official excavation where the finds had been made.
They arrived in April, 1929, with a train of seven camels and a
guard of 20 army details. It was impossible to use motor-cars,
the roads and tracks being too primitive.
During this season (1929) several other tombs near the
first were investigated, and a number of significant objects were
unearthed, proving beyond all doubt the existence of an important
city, with its adjoining necropolis, at Ras Shamra during the 13th
and 12th centuries B.c., that is, of course, during the period between
the time of the Tell Amarna tablets and that of those invasions of
THE BAS ESH-SHAMBA TABLETS.
155
Egypt by the “ sea peoples ” during the early XXth Dynasty,
which are pictured for us on the Ramses IIP reliefs at Medinet Habu.
The various finds at Ras Shamra illustrate very completely
that syncretism of Aegean, Hittite, Egyptian and Babylonian art and
culture patterns which is characteristic of the whole Syrian littoral
throughout this period, and is emphasized in particular by the
published discoveries of M. Montet at Byblus and of Mr. Alan Rowe
at Beth Shan. Amongst these finds were beautiful “ stirrup ” and
footed vases of painted faience, an (apparently) imported Egyptian
bronze sparrow-hawk bearing the double red and white crowns, a
smaller one, gold-encrusted, with the uraem between its feet, a
sitting statuette of a god in the attitude of benediction with hands
upraised, the eyes of white enamel and silver, and a figurine of the
god Resheph (?) with Hittite cap, similar to the well-known Egyptian
Resheph . 1 There is also an admirable gold plaque of ‘Astarte with
Hath or headdress, resembling those found at Jerusalem and Gezer,
together with bulls’ heads and feminine figurines as unearthed by
Schliemann at Mycenae and Tiryns. In tomb III was a Mycenean
painted Jcrater and an alabaster Egyptian vase, also a fine Mycenean
ivory of the mother-goddess as irorvia Orjpoov with ears of com
in her hands, and a rearing goat on either side.
But the most startling finds were those revealed when the
excavators began work on the much larger mound to the east of
the promontory and just south of the little stream Nahr-el-Fidd
which there flows into the bay. This mound, covering the actual
city, is one of the largest single Bronze Age sites yet disclosed.
It is ten times the size of the well-known Megiddo (Tell el-Mutesellim)
where Mr. Guy is now again at work, and its longest diameter
exceeds half a mile. Objects of art and utensils were not lacking
here, including a tripod and a number of inscribed pickaxes and hoes.
But the chief interest of every such excavation must centre on
the recovery of written documents, and it is in this respect that
Ras Shamra is likely to be of such special importance. Such
documents have been singularly lacking both in Palestine and in
Syria. We have a few — a very few — inscriptions on stone, such as
i<7/. S. A. Cook’, The Religion of Ancient Palestine , pp, 105, 121, 178, and
Pis. XXI Y, 2, 8, XXV, 2, XXVI, 1.
156
THE HAS ESH-SHAMRA TABLETS.
the Moabite Mesha‘ stele and the lines preserved from iconoclasts in
the interior of the Siloam tunnel under the Ophel. We have also
certain scribblings like the Samarian ostraka, and an occasional
cuneiform contract or political tablet like the two from Gezer or the
much earlier solitary one from Tell el~Hesy. But none of these
throw much light on the religious beliefs, myths, or legends of Syria
and Palestine during the period of Hebrew^ occupation or that
immediately preceding it.
As a general deduction from the nature of culture objects and
potsherds found in various mounds, compared with Biblical
evidence regarding the continuous existence of Amorite J5 and
Canaanite ” heathenism, and of tree, bull, and snake worship
throughout the pre-Exilic (IVth Semitic) period, it has been
reasonably assumed, as by Baudissin in his Eslwmn und Adonis ,
that a syncretism of various polytheist patterns and mystic cults
was in fact the prevailing atmosphere of religious thought in the
Levantine coastal area during the first half at least of the last
milienium b.c., and in 1ST. Syria throughout the whole time. But
written contemporary witness regarding the nature of the actual
deities worshipped, and the myths believed and cults practised in
relation to these, has been curiously to seek. Papyrus records,
naturally, which must once have existed, have long ago vanished in
that climate of heavy seasonal rainfall. It is only in exceptionally
dry tracts like Egypt that such could ever have survived through
many centuries. The baked clay tablet or the inscribed stone stele
are less vulnerable. And in digging out the city concealed under
the mound of Ras Shamra the excavators came across what was
apparently the library of either the palace or an important temple.
A number of cuneiform tablets have been brought to light, in a
dangerously friable condition, it is true, but, most patiently and
carefully handled, they have been preserved sufficiently intact to
enable us to read a great deal of the writing inscribed on them.
In 1929 a quantity of these were thus lifted out, and deciphered
by the experts. Some were in Babylonian, the official and legal
lingua franca of the whole of the Near East at the time. Others
proved to be in Sumerian, the learned Latin of the priests. And yet
others were written, indeed, in the cuneiform character, but in an
THE RAS ESH-SHAMRA TABLETS.
157
alphabet containing only some 26 or 27 different simple signs in
place of the between three and four hundred complicated combina-
tions used in the Babylonian and Sumerian syllabic systems.
This alphabet was immediately recognised by M. Virolleaud as
something hitherto unknown to modern scholars. In September,
1929, he read a paper on the subject to the Parisian Academie
des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, and in April of the nest year he
published the texts themselves in Syria, of which magazine the
well-known archaeologist, M. Rene Dussaud, is editor. At that
time M. Virolleaud had suggested that the language embodied might
turn out to be Cypriote or Mitannic. At the end of April, however.
Prof. Hans Bauer of Halle wrote to M. Dussaud stating that he had
succeeded in deciphering the script. A few days later he sent on the
main results of his decipherment. Bauer had discovered that the
new characters represent the Phoenician-Hebrew alphabet, letter for
letter, and that the language is in fact Phoenician, but that the
dialect differs from that of the Phoenician inscriptions previously
discovered at Byblus, Tyre and Sidon, further to the south. M.
Dussaud recognised instantly that the problem had been solved, in
essence at least, by the German savant. “ There is no longer any
doubt/’ he wrote on the 29th of May, 1930, “ that the alphabetic
script of Ras Shamra was created in the 12th century b.c,, following
the plan of that which is called the Phoenician alphabet in the
exact sense of the words.”
On the 4th of June, 1930, Bauer published in the Vossische
Zeitung TJ nterhaltungsblatt a paper on “ The Decipherment of a
new Cuneiform Character,” which corresponds very nearly to that
communicated to Dussaud. Comparing his own results with this
preparatory study Pere Dhorme in Jerusalem, who had been
occupying himself with a number of the shorter texts, was
able [successfully to suggest corrections of some of the [identi-
fications proposed by Bauer. His paper was published in
the Rev. Bibl. for September, 1930. Bauer, in turn, was able,
through a private communication of these results, to add an
appendix to his book, “ The Decipherment of the Cuneiform
Tablets of Ras Shamra.” Later he published additional remarks in
the ZDMG , 1930. Virolleaud meanwhile had made certain other
adjustments. In September, 1931, Bauer read a paper at the
U
158
THE BAS ESH-SHAMBA TABLETS.
Triennial Orientalist Congress in Leyden, in which he explained
the position then reached regarding these texts.
In his ZDMG article Prof. Bauer explains that the method of
decipherment used was necessarily different from that successful in
other well-known cases. The Rosetta Stone, for example, is
bilingual, and one of the two languages was known, whilst the
unknown factor was repeated in two different scripts. The Behistun
and Persepolis inscriptions were trilingual, in different adaptations
of a single type of character, the cuneiform. The first proved to be
the real starting-point for the complete dec pherment of hieroglyphic,
Egyptian ; the second ultimately the same for that of cuneiform,
Babylonian. But the Phoenician tablets at Ras Shamra are
unilingual. There is no parallel version in any other language
known or unknown. Again, in the case of the Sinai-Serabit graffl ti
the signs could be compared with the simpler consonantal symbols
of the by then well-known Egyptian hieroglyphic and hieratic.
Similarly the older Phoenician character and that of the Palmyrene
inscriptions could be read by comparison with the square Hebrew
and its Samaritan equivalent already familiar to scholars. But in
the case before us the characters, composed of a few wedges each, in
several instances of only one or two, seldom bear even a remote
resemblance to the pen and ink writing of the Aramaic papyri, or
to\the alphabet employed in inscriptions on Punic and Phoenician
stales and bronzes.
Poubtless Prof. Bauer had in mind the methods employed by
suchl pioneers as Grotefend, Hincks, Young, or Champollion. But
the mature of his material was very different. He therefore began
by ^assuming from the small number of characters in the script that
he .bad to do with a true alphabet. He then collected repetitions
of groups of three or four characters. One such group of three
occurred several times, once or twice with a fourth added. It was
gufissed that this might be b ‘ l } lord, and that the fourth,
letter might be t, forming the word b ‘ 1 1, lady. To the four letters
t'lhus isolated four more were added. On several of the bronze pick
- heads an identical combination of four characters occurred. This
was tentatively assumed to be the Heb. -Phoenician word for
pickaxe g rzn, Q’ni), which occurs three times in the Siloam
T: HE RAS ESH-SHAMRA TABLETS.
159
tunnel inscription. Eight letters had now been guessed out of an
alphabet of some 26-7, as it turned out, six of them successfully.
Applying these throughout the texts in the manner of Sherlock
Holmes in the story of the Dancing Men, it was soon seen that a
good many of the blanks could be filled in, giving fresh letters ; and
presently whole words and sentences in what was clearly a Phoenician
dialect began to emerge. It afterwards appeared that two slight
mistakes had been made, but these were soon corrected, as already
mentioned (by a happy guess of Pere Dhorme, based on his know-
ledge of Assyro -Babylonian), and thus the whole alphabet stood
clear. 2 * *
Having indicated the method employed in deciphering the new
script, it will be of interest to make some study, however slight,
of the nature and significance of the texts themselves. It had been
evident from the beginning that at Has Shamra we have to do with
a city and a civilisation contemporary with, and culturally allied
to, those of Gebal and Beth Shan. The name of the city was
assumed to have been Sapuna, since that word occurs, accompanied
by the Egyptian determinative for “ district/ 5 in the dedicatory
hieroglyphic inscription on a relief which pictures a worshipper
adoring the “Lord of Sapuna. 55 Now we know that on the con-
temporary Merneptah stele the names of well known Ganaanite
cities, such as Askalon, Yeno‘am and Gezer, occur followed by this
sign. At Beth Shan, too, also contemporary, the name of the city
is followed on the hieroglyphic relief-inscriptions, sometimes by the
proper determinative for city, and sometimes by that for district or
canton, as here and on Merneptah’s stele, apparently indifferently
M. Virolleaud, however, has recently suggested the identity of the
site with the Ugarit of the cuneiform documents, so that further
discussion may be awaited on this point.
Whatever the contemporary name of the site, it is clear that it
must have been of great importance in the later Bronze Age, which
is that of maximum Egyptian influence in Syria and Palestine, when
commercial and diplomatic communications were easy and frequent,
and that the culture was that demonstrated by the post-War
2 Actually the first clues were obtained by collecting initial and final
letters and guessing theBe to represent the usual West Semitic prefixes and
suffixes. The very first whole word deciphered was m l k, king.
N
160
THE HAS ESH-SHAMKA TABLETS.
excavations of M. Montet at Byblus and of Messrs. Fisher and Alan
Rowe at Betli Shan, and more recently still of Prof. Garstang,
resuming the work initiated by Sellin and Watzinger at Jericho.
The series of pots and jugs at the last-named site compares very
accurately, piece for piece, with known examples of Mycenean
ware. We have, in fact, at all these places, a syncretism of Egyptian,
Mycenean, Hittite and Babylonian (Accadian) elements, with, of
course, the typical Syrian and Palestinian features. The period
is that in which the Israelite invasions are usually placed, the times
from the Battle of Kadesh and the Boghaz Keui treaties onwards
to those of Papyrus Anastasi I and Wen-Amen, roughly from 1250
to 1100 b.c. We know that between 1400 and 1100 b.c. a whole
chain of Phoenician settlements existed on the Syrian coast from
Dor under Mt. Carmel to the Sapuna (Ugarit ?) of this article in the
N.W. corner. With the advent of David's empire we find the new
Israelite control forming definite commercial, financial, and (doubt-
less) religious 3 connections with these settlements. David's friend-
ship with Hiram of Tyre and Solomon's employment of Phoenician
craftsmen are familiar instances. There is, therefore, little doubt
that if we could recover the cultural atmosphere and the ideas
respecting religion and worship of these settlements, which we
know to have been those also of inland sites like Beth Shan and
Jericho, we should be in a better position to form a true picture of
the religion of Syria and Palestine at that period than we can f
expect to do from the unsupplemented Biblical records, written
by those who regarded the native culture patterns with frank
disapproval as blatant heathenism.
It is perhaps considerations such as these which lie behind the
following words of Prof. A. T. Olmstead, in a recent communication
to the writer, when he says : “ The Has Shamra inscriptions are,
in my opinion, the most important find since the Amarna letters,
and I am not sure that they may not be placed even higher." On
the other hand Prof. Eissfeldt, of Halle, a friend and colleague of
Dr. Bauer, writes very cautiously in response to some tentative
suggestions offered by me regarding the possible identifications of
certain god-names at Ras Shamra with others already well-known
s As the story of Elijah and Jezebel suggests.
THE BAS ESH-SHAMRA TABLETS.
161
“ Before all the mythological texts shall have been published we
shall be well advised to be wary about proposing identifications for
the deities of Bas Shamra. It may well be^that the identification
Alein = Adonis may then turn out to be justified, but in the mean-
time nothing more certain can be said/ 5 Such a warning has
especial weight as coming from the well-known editor and continuer
of Count Baudissin 5 s work on Kyrios. It is therefore with due
hesitation, and with these warnings in mind, that we add a short
description of the contents of the texts as far as these have yet been
made public. We follow the translations of M. Virolleaud and Pere
Dhorme in Syria and Rev. Biblique .
There are 48 short texts relating to sacrificial ritual and five
fragments of a six-column tablet containing the much discussed
Alein myth of (as it would seem) the resurrected vegetation-god.
The first group of documents supplies the following pieces of
evidence, according to Pere Dhorme 5 s translation. These will, of
course, require confirmation and interpretation.
Text No. 1. Sacrifices were offered to El, Elohim, Skmn (the
white-haired ?), Ba c al, Asherat, Besheph, Ba £ al of the years, and
of the seasons, Elat of the tower and of the enclosures, ‘Anat of
Gebal, Ba'alat of the cattle.
Text No. 2. Apollo (?) worshippers, Horites, Hittites, and
Greeks (?) are to be expelled from the precincts.
, Text No. 5. ‘Astarte introduces (the Egyptian ?) Horns into
the house of the king.
Text No. 6. Horus shall go up. The good star shall be obscured.
Thou shalt betake thyself to the Ba c alat ‘Ain. Thou shalt kneel
to the star.
Text No. 9. Various offerings are prescribed for different deities ;
for El, a lamb (sh : Heb. seh) ; for Sapun, a ewe (d 1c t) ; for the
“ winged Ba'aP 5 , a heifer (gdlt) ; a steer ( 5 1 p) for Ba‘al and ’Asherat ;
birds ( f s r m) for 5 n s.
There are references also to peace-offerings (sh l m m), to blood
and life ( d m w np sh), to wine of the city (y n qr t), etc., the whole
being introduced by the expression, s l h n p sh, apparently £C health
(or pardon) of the soul. 5 *
162
THE RAS ESH-SHAMRA TABLETS.
Text No. 12. A number of measures and commodities are
mentioned, the words used for these having a striking resemblance
to well-known Hebrew expressions, as It h (Heb. lethek) ; d d (Heb.
(dud), a pot ; k d (Heb. had), a jug ; hmr (Heb. homer), a homer.
The varieties of produce mentioned include barley, oil of myrrh,
raisins, figs and fiowers.
The regulations in Leviticus and on the sacrifice tablets found
at Carthage and Marseilles (CIS i. 165, 166, 167) will immediately
be recalled. The Ras Shamra tablets, Nos. 9 and 12, in fact,
resemble the last two very much. It does look as if further investi-
gation might yield something like a more or less complete body of
information regarding the Syrian pantheon at this period, and the
sacrificial rites then customary in N. Syria. But side by side with
rites there are always myths ; and it is only from a study of these
that the nature of the deities as conceived, and the peculiar relations
in which each stood to his or her worshippers, can be really under-
stood.
It is therefore the myth-story of Alein son of Ba £ al, who dies and
lives again, of his enemy Mot (Death) son of 5 E1, and of the Virgin
‘Anat, known from various contemporary inscriptions in the hiero-
glyphic character, as well as from the much later Aramaic Papyri
at Assouan (Elephantine), and here connected with the death of
Alein and his resurrection, which has aroused the most vivid interest,
Some have already sought to connect these fragments with the
Adonis-myth related by Philo Byblius in the 2nd Cent, a.d., whilst
others have suggested a parallel with the cedar-god (the younger
brother Bata) in the D’Orbiney Papyrus, who, like Osiris and
Adonis, dies and is resurrected, and whose mise-en~scbne is N. Syria.
Such speculations are as yet premature. We mention them only
in order to show the nature of the interest which this document
has aroused. There is doubtless much more to come from Ras
Shamra, which must be awaited. We conclude then by giving a
synopsis of the relevant parts of the myth as translated by M.
Virolleaud from the fragments recovered.
The six-column tablet containing the Alein myth :
Column 1. There is lamentation because Alein (son of) Ba c al
is dead. The god El cries to Asherat, Lady of the Sea, that
she give one of her sons to reign in his place. Ishtar- f rph
is chosen to sit on the throne of Alein (son of) Ba‘al
THE HAS ESH-SHAMBA TABLETS.
163
Column 2. The virgin goddess ‘Anat appears, ranging and raven-
ing like a dog among the sheep. She seizes Mot (Death) and
cries, “ Thou, Mot, give me my brother ! 99 Mot replies that
the breeze which gives life has vanished.- 8 ps (?), the torch
of the gods, declares : “ The unrained -upon plains are in
the hand of Mot, the son of the gods.” ‘Anat seizes Mot.
She cuts him with the sickle, winnows him with the fan,
bums him in the fire, grinds him in the mill, sows him in
order to eat his flesh.
Columns 3-4. When Mot had perished, then Alein (son of) Ba‘al
was alive, then Zebul (son of) Ba c al of the Earth existed.
Ltpn El-Dped (the heroic narrator) heard it said : “ Good
news, o my son whom I have created ! The skies shall rain
down fatness ; the valleys shall be filled with plant-life (?) ”
Ltpn El-Dped rej oiced. He cracked his fingers and laughed.
He raised his voice and cried : “I will sit down and rest
myself, since Alein (son of) Ba‘al is alive ; since Zebul (son
of) Ba‘al of the Earth exists.”
The virgin ‘Anat then cries again to Mot and threatens
* the wrath of his father, the bull-god (shr 3 2 3 bk). The search
for Alein continues.
Column 5 is very broken. But evidently the text speaks of the
victory of Ba‘al and his forces over Mot, and a renewed
attack by Mot on Alein.
Column 6. In this column the story of the combat is continued.
Sps rebukes Mot for disobedience tohisfather, the bull-god,
and foretells his discomfiture, which takes place.
164
REVIEWS AND NOTICES.
England in Palestine. By Norman Bentwich, O.B.E., Attorney-
General of Palestine (1922-31). London : Kegan Paul,
Trench, Trubner and Co., Ltd. With a map. 12s. 6d. 1932.
Here we have an account of the recent history of Palestine and
of the British Government under the Mandate by one who is able to
write with intimate and first hand knowledge of the events. He
has spent over fifteen years in the land, two and a half on military
service, and thirteen as legal adviser of the Government. It is the
fullest popular account of the period of 1917-1931 yet published'
On the thorny subject of Zionism Mr. Bentwich writes with candour
and fairness, and the reader cannot but be struck with his modera-
tion and caution.
The period covered has been one of momentous happenings and
extraordinary difficulties. There have been two very serious
clashes between the Arab and Jewish irreconcilables. Blood has
been shed and the progress of any land of co-operation between the
Arab and Jewish elements has been slow indeed. Tension still
exists, and it is to be feared that British troops and British police
will still be necessary for years to come. Why this is so, this
history shows. Much has been written on the under-population of
Palestine, but until there is much further agricultural development
there is no room for immigrants seeking work. The fellahin are
miserably poor and their only hope lies in their clinging to their
ill-developed village lands, and in being assisted to cultivate them
better. They dread being ousted ; while the keen Zionists resent
delays in stepping into what th^ey consider their national inheritance.
Both — in the ignorant mass — consider that Great Britain has
promised the land to the Jews. Infinite mischief has been done
by the press both in Palestine and outside.
The story of the many difficulties which have attended the civil
administration under its first three High Commissioners is narrated in
Parti. After the capture of Jerusalem, General Allenby made the
historic proclamation that every form of religion, every endowment
and every sacred building should “ be maintained and protected
according to the existing customs and belief of those to whose faith
REVIEWS AND NOTICES.
165
they were sacred/ 5 A Military Administration was established.
The British Government lost no time in giving effect at once to the
Balfour Declaration, even during the clash of arms. The pitiable
condition of the Jews made it a matter of urgency that something
should be done at once. With their permission a Commission, under
the leadership of Professor Weizmann, was despatched by the
Central Zionist Organisation to assist the Jewish population and to
make enquiries as to possible future development. Professor
Weizmann, in meeting the leading Arabs on his arrival, denied
emphatically the allegation, which was already being spread, that
the Jews intended to take the political domination of Palestine into
their hands and to create a Jewish State. There appeared to be
signs of a friendly good feeling and his invitation to a good under-
standing was acclaimed by Arab and Jew alike.
On 30th of June, 1920, Sir Herbert Samuel arrived in Jerusalem
to assume office as first High Commissioner. The first six months
was marked by comparative political tranquility and remarkable
administrative and economic development. Early in 1921 signs of
unrest began, and the Arab Nationalists took advantage of Mr.
Winston Churchill's visit to voice their grievances and their extremely
drastic demands. In May a disturbance broke out, caused by
Jews affiliated to the Moscow International who insisted in taking
part in a forbidden May Day demonstration. This spark kindled
a fire, and led to a sanguinary uprising of Arabs against Jews in and
around Jaffa, during which many were killed and much property
was destroyed. After this was settled the High Commissioner
used every endeavour to get the Arab Nationalists to take their
proper share in the Executive Council of Palestine, which was to
pave the way for a Legislative Council of 22, of whom 12 were to be
elected. Three times the Moslem and Christian population — ‘led
astray by Nationalist agitators — refused to co-operate. The
third refusal was considered final.
Chapter VI — Ci The conclusion of the Book of Samuel 55 —
describes the last six months of Sir Herbert Samuel's administration.
“ Events conspired to make his last six months a period of fulfilment
of promise and to give him the reward for four years of patient work
in which he had struggled successfully against adverse circumstances. 55
“ And the land had rest 55 heads the chapter on Lord Plumer's
three years administration. His may be described as an almost
166
REVIEWS A ND NOTICES.
paternal government well suited to Orientals, and his personality
and his high military reputation as a Great Field Marshal made it
possible for him to reduce greatly the military forces.
Lord Plumer left Palestine at the beginning of August, 1921, and
his successor, Sir John Chancellor, did not arrive to take up his
appointment until the beginning of December.
<e A little devil moved a cord of the tent and upset the whole
camp. 5 ’ — this Arab proverb heads the chapter on— -The Crisis of the
Wailing Wall. Beginning as a very small thing this dispute grew
and grew until it finally culminated in the terrible outbreak of
August, 1929. All this and “ the Aftermath 5J are described in a
masterly way, only possible to one of judicial mind and quick
observation on the spot.
Part II describes from an inside knowledge the Government of
Palestine as regards (I) The Executive ; (II) The Legislative Power ;
and (III) The Judiciary. Some will consider these chapters the
most important in the book.
It only remains to add that two chapters and one Appendix deal
with the difficult question of Transjordan — a problem now, for a
time at any rate, happily solved. There are other Appendixes
consisting of official documents connected with the Mandate.
“ England in Palestine 55 is a historical work of permanent
importance. It is also of outstanding interest to those interested in
Palestine at the present time.
The Third Wall of Jerusalem , an account of excavations. By E. L.
Sukenik and L. A. Mayer. London : Oxford University Press
— (Also published in Hebrew in Jerusalem). 1930.
At the time of the commencement of the excavations here
described a brief account appeared in the Quarterly Statement
(1925, pp. 172-182). A few words about this volume, though some-
what belated, may not be amiss as it may not be widely known in
Great Britain and yet is of great importance for all those who would
understand the topography of Jerusalem. The excavations were
started originally on a small scale by the Palestine Jewish Exploration
Society, and were continued in co-operation with the Hebrew
University, Jerusalem. Several Jerusalem residents gave their
assistance particularly in regard to plans and photographs, and Mr.
Crowfoot himself read the manuscript and made valuable suggestions.
REVIEWS AND NOTICES.
167
That the “ Third Wall ” lay to the north of the existing northern
wall of Jerusalem is an old theory and disjointed remains (covering a
wider area even than those now examined) which were supposed to
mark its course were pointed out by Edward Robinson nearly a
century ago. 1
The discovery of a huge drafted block at the junction of the
Nablus Road and Richard Coeur-de-Lion Street in 1925 re-opened
the question and started the search for further remains.
The result of the excavations has been to reveal fragmentary
remains of a Wall of huge drafted masonry extending altogether
about 540 yards. The width of the wall and the occurrence of traces
of four towers projecting northwards, together with the general
alignment, prove conclusively that the fragments found belonged to
a great City wall. It is difficult, indeed, not to accept the view —
as the authors do — that this is the wall started, according to Josephus,
by Agrippa I (40-44 a.d.), and finished by the people of Jerusalem
about thirty years later, during the Eirst Revolt against the Romans.
The only substantial criticism comes from Father Vincent, whose
opinion on any archeological subject must always be taken seriously.
He argues that there is much to be said for the view that this wall
belonged to the time of Bar Kokhba’s revolt in 131-132 a.d., but
Messrs. Sukenik and Mayer appear to have a successful answer to
this view.
The volume is so excellently illustrated by photographs and
plans that the reader is in a position to weigh all the evidence
himself.
Report of the Department of Agriculture and Forests for the years
1927-1930. Jerusalem : Printing and Stationery Department.
100 mils. 1932.
We have recently received this welcome addition to our library
from the Director of the Department of Agriculture in the Govern-
ment of Palestine.
The department of Agriculture in Palestine has had no lack of
advisers during the period covered by this report. The Report
on Land Reform by Sir Ernest Dowson, and that on Immigration,
Land Settlement and Development by Sir John Hope-Simpson,
have been widely noticed in our home press. There have been
1 Robinson’s Biblical Researches , Vol. I., pp. 314-315.
168
REVIEWS AND NOTICES.
many other visiting specialists, chiefly from U.S.A., who have made
reports connected with special aspects of agriculture.
[From time immemorial Palestine has been periodically devastated
by locust invasions, cattle plague and drought, and heavy damage
has been done by field mice, insect pests and endemic diseases of
animals and plants. It has been one continual fight, and here we
have here a record of the forces that have been organised to battle
with these enemies. With regard to locusts in particular, the
results — though costly bought — have been happily successful.
It is generally recognised that nothing has injured Palestine's
climate and productiveness more than the extensive destruction of
her forests, meaning by this not only her timber but her woodlands.
It is gratifying to read that 260 square miles have been set aside as
forest reserves. Some 3f million trees have been planted by the
Government in afforestation centres, while private planting has
made notable headway, particularly among the Jewish Colonies.
Over a million trees have been planted in private domains. The
variety of trees experimented with is enormous ; the list covers
over seven closely printed pages. Many varieties are still on trial.
Olive plantation has been encouraged, and during the period under
review more than 63,700 olive trees have been planted.
The citrus industry is the mainstay of Palestine commercially
and is likely to remain so. Great stress is here laid upon the need of
improvement in picking, planting and packing of oranges. At
present great quantities of bad oranges have to be thrown out from
boxes on arrival in Europe, a much higher percentage than with
shipments from Spain, America and South Africa. Government
inspection and control of export is needed. The real cause of the
poor condition of the overseas market can, however, often be traced
to faults in the cultivation, beginning with the first planting of the
seed. It is a matter of urgency that there should be immediately
established a station where the principles of citriculture can be
studied. * Oranges and grape fruit can be grown to perfection in
Palestine. The latter fruit is coming well to the fore and its export is
rapidly increasing.
The report on the Fisheries Service is very interesting and in the
Appendix there is an illustrated catalogue of all the edible fishes of
Palestine, The present fishing industry of Palestine is estimated to
BE VIEWS AND NOTICES.
169
be worth about £90,000 to the country, the net value to the fishermen
of the fish locally produced ; but another £70,000 which is now spent
on imported fish may ultimately be replaced by local production.
Fishing in the Lake of Tiberias appears to be overdone ; the
number of fishermen has become more than the industry can
support, and it would seem that the fish production of the lake has
been steadily declining and the fish are somewhat smaller in size.
There are several interesting sections of the report which it has
been impossible even to touch upon, but all are of importance and of
interest to those who are watching the modern development of the
Holy Land with sympathy. And lastly, mention must be made of
the fourteen pages of excellent illustrations at the end of the report.
Das Heilige Land in N aturfarbenphotographie. Urachrom, Munich,
2 N.W., Theresienstrasse 75.
We have received a sample of this remarkable publication in the
form of a cardboard case containing 66 photographs in their natural
colours. The pictures are of postcard size and the correctness of
the colours, recalling the brilliancy of spring in the Holy Land, axe
quite extraordinary. These views taken with every regard to
artistic effect give — for their size — a better impression of the most
striking views in Palestine that any we have seen. To those familiar
with the country they will be a delight. They are divided into two
editions — A. for Catholics and B. for Protestants.
The series of 66 costs 12 marks, but there are eleven series of six
each costing 1.20 marks each packet. Six of the series illustrate
Jerusalem itself, and the other five other parts of the land. In the
sample box sent us there are included two maps of Palestine and a
plan of modern Jerusalem — all postcard size — as well as a small
handbook — in German — giving a description of each view.
Those subscribers to the P. E. F. who would like to inspect
these views may do so at our office, 2, Hinde Street, any day.
Marriage Conditions in a Palestinian Village . By Hilma Granquist
Helsingfors : Akademische Buchhandlung. 75 m. 1931.
This thesis embodies some results of ethnological research upon
which the author was engaged among the Palestinian Arabs for
some three years. The investigation was made at the well-known
village of Artas, situated south of Bethlehem on the edge of the
Judaean desert.
O
170
REVIEWS AND NOTICES.
The material collected is grouped under three main heads
“ The Age of Marriage/ 5 “ The Choice of the Bride/ 5 “ Marriage for
Consideration. 55 — There are geneological trees, marriage lists and
marriage tables, and a plan showing the localities from which
strangers came who contracted marriages from outside the village
circle. The 200 pages are packed with folklore and ethnological
facts collected with meticulous care.
In her introduction to the inner life of the people the author
acknowledges her indebtedness to the “ inestimable help and value 5 '
she had from Louise Baldensperger “ who had actually lived in the
village more than 30 years and knew the people thoroughly. With
the great interest in folklore, which seems to be a family trait, she
has collected a rich experience of fellahin customs and habits and
life especially in her own village. 55 The author, however, gradually
came to realise the necessity of dealing direct with the people
themselves in their own language.
She has attempted here to concentrate all her investigations on
one single small village. She quotes Jaussen 5 s opinion of long ago?
that it was necessary to avoid generalisations as to customs in
Palestine as a whole, and that customs are so different in places often
not far apart that each separate place should be dealt with in a
special monograph. If Artas provides such a wealth of detail
and has occupied so long a time, what would enquiry on similar lines
require in a town such as Nablus %
Artas is peculiarly situated historically. Twice within memory
it has been destroyed by tribal enemies with consequent desertion
of the site by its inhabitants. Only in 1830 did the people begin to
return after the second destruction. It is during this hundred years —
that is to say four-five generations — since 1830 that the comparative
examination of all the marriages have been made. It deals with a
small community within a definite limit of time.
No one writing to make a scientific study of marriage customs in
the Holy Land and' the light they throw upon the Old Testament
can afford to neglect this careful and most illuminating work which,
it may be added, gives copious references to all the literature
bearing on the subject.
E. W. G. M.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Notes and News 171
Pots, Ancient and Modern. By Grace M. Crowfoot ... 179
The Monastery of St. Euthymius. By The Bey. D. J.
Chitty, M.A 188
Tell en-Nasbeh, By John P. Nalsh, D.D 204
A Dioscuri Cult in Sebustiya. By M. Narkiss 210
Goa and the Danger from the North, in Ezekiel. By
Professor John L. Mitres, E.B.A., F.S.A., O.B.E., etc. ... 213
Note on the Map of the Principal Excavated Sites of
Palestine. By Sir Charles Close 220
“ The Archaeology of Palestine and the Bible.” By *
Professor John Garstang, M.A., D.Sa, LL.D 221
Notices of Books. By Prof. S. A. Cook. Litt. D.
... 231
LIST 0 F ILLUSTRATIONS.
Pots, Ancient and Modern :
Plate I. Fig. 1. The Israelite Footbath
„ 2. Footbath from Sinjil
„ 3. Footbath from Jeba
„ 4. Cooking Pot prom Church
(Tyre 1), Sebustiya
„ 5. Fragment of Pot from
Church (Tyre 2), Sebustiya
Fig. G
Plate II. Fig. 7. Making Cooking Pots at
Kufr Sebbad
.. 8. Making Cooking Pots at Jib
,, 9. Burnishing with Shell, at
Kufr Sebbad
Plate III. „ JO. Cooking Pot from Jib
(Photo by Mr. Beaumont)
„ J 1. Handle of Cooking Pot from
Tell Ajjul
„ J2. Potter’s Hands While Bur-
nishing with the Shell,
Sebustiya Kufr Sebbad
Technique
PAGE
after 186
„ 186
„ 186
186
„ 186
... 181
after 186
„ 186
„ 186
„ 186
„ 186
186
The Monastery of St. Euthymius, Khan el-Ahmar
Plate I.
II.
III. 1.
2 .
IV. 1.
2.
1 .
2 .
1 .
2 .
3.
4.
V.
VI.
General Plan of the Excavations
Plan of the Excavated Buildings
Khan el-Ahmar from the North-East
The Church from the West
Western Aisle of Great Cistern
Medieval Arch in North Wall of Ruins
Altar and Niches of Cemetery
Central Vault
Broken Arch of Cistern-Head . . .
Arch of Late Vault
West Front of Cemetery Block
Ruins at West Front
after 202
M 202
„ 202
„ 202
„ 202
5? 202
„ 202
„ 202
„ 202
„ 202
„ 202
„ 202
A Coin of Solis (Pompeiopolis) 210
Map of the Principal Excavated Sites of Palestine after 220
Qtjartekly Statement, October, 1932.]
THE
PALESTINE EXPLORATION FUND.
NOTES AND NEWS.
The Annual General Meeting of the British School of
Archaeology in Jerusalem was held on Thursday, October 6th,
1932, in the rooms of the Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House,
Piccadilly, W.l, Sir Charles Close, K.B.E., C.B., C.M.G., Sc.D.,
F.B.S., presiding. The Business Meeting of Subscribers to the
B.S.A.J. was held at 4.30 p.m., and was followed at 5 o’clock by an
Open Public Meeting to which P.E.P. subscribers and other friends
had been invited. The Director of the School, Mr. J. W.
Crowfoot, C.B.E., M.A., P.S.A., then gave an illustrated account
of the Excavations at Samaria, conducted by him on behalf of
the School, the Palestine Exploration Fund, Harvard University,
and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. A fuller account will
be given in the next issue.
By the death of Field-Marshal Viscount Plumer of Messines,
G.C.B., G.C.M.G., on July 16th, both the Palestine Exploration
Fund and the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem have
lost a staunch friend and supporter. Lord Plumer became a member
of the General Committee of the Fund and a Vice-President of the
School in 1925, and during his term of office as High Commissioner
in Palestine, 1925-28, he took a keen interest in the archaeology of
the country, which he afterwards maintained. Members who
.attended the Annual Meeting of the B.S.A.J. in 1928, at which Lord
Plumer presided, will recollect his energetic and sincere appeal on
behalf of the School.
P
172
NOTES AND NEWS.
We regret to have to record the sudden death on July 28th
of the Rev. W. Ewing, D.D., whose connection with the Holy Land,
and with the Palestine Exploration Fund, is a long one. While
acting as Missionary in Charge of the Scottish Presbyterian Mission
in Galilee, Mr. Ewing made an archaeological tour East of the Jordan,
of which he gave a full account, together with a large collection of
Greek and other inscriptions collected by himself, in the Quarterly
Statement for 1895. In 1910 he was co-editor of the Temple Dic-
tionary of the Bible, in the writing of which he used to the full
his knowledge of Palestine. He became, in 1906, a member of the
General Committee of the Fund by election, and from that time
he seldom failed to express his apologies if he was unable to be
present at the Annual Meeting. His love for the Holy Land was
deep, and he returned there again and again. It must have been
a peculiar satisfaction to him to have been appointed Head of the
Church of Scotland Hospice so recently opened in Jerusalem.
His sudden death will be felt as a great loss.
Another old friend of Jerusalem has passed away, Miss K. M.
Reynolds, whose beautiful water-colour drawings of the Flowers of
the Holy L&nd were reproduced and published in booklet form a few
years ago.
Professor Garstang is proposing to print his reports of the
excavations and finds at Jericho in the Liverpool Annals of Art
and Archceology. The first report has already been published in a
double number of the journal (Vol. xix, Nos. 1-2), and consists of
22 pages of letter-press (with some plans and illustrations) and
twenty-three plates. As no off-prints are being prepared, all who
are interested in the work — and they must be many — should
subscribe to the journal or at least induce their library to do so.
The annual subscription to the Annals is one guinea (apply to the
Secretary of the University Press, 177, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool).
Prof. Garstang’s successful labours have caught the imagination of
the public, and it should be remembered that in addition to the
discoveries which are of interest for the historical study of the Bible,
NOTES AND NEWS.
173
he found numerous tombs well-stocked with pottery, which are
likely to be of no less intrinsic importance.
The following interesting paragraph on the work at Mizpah
we quote from the Palestine correspondent's letter in The Near
East and India , July 28 : —
ce As testimony from the tomb continues to emerge in the
course of excavations — in regard to which no other season
has shown so plentiful a crop— it is increasingly evident that
history repeats itself in both customs and habits : and in
recent diggings in the necropolis near Mizpah, the ancient
fortified city where Professor William Bade, of California,
has been heading an expedition, one tomb yielded fifty bronze
bracelets, strings of beads, and other forms of jewellery,
illustrating the feminine love of ornament in ancient Canaan.
Most of the beads were carnelian, so admirably cut that any
modern woman would be proud to wear them. T|ie tomb-
contained hundreds of juglets, lamps, bowls, pyxes and pitchers,
some of striking form and finish, and a dozen dainty oil-
bottles imported from Cyprus more than a thousand years b.c..
In one level of the tomb were found thirteen scarabs,
seven of which bear the cartouche of Thutmosis III.,
an Egyptian king who made numerous expeditions
into Syria and Palestine during the fifteenth century b.c.
Sixteen button seals with ancient heraldic animal devices are
of great archaeological interest. One contains alphabetic or
hieroglyphic symbols of an unknown kind. Another large
Byzantine tomb contained beautiful glass bottles and pitchers,
and some highly ornamental lamps. A thousand museum
objects were secured during the past season, many of them
shedding new light upon Biblical history. The discovery
and excavation of the gate of ancient Mizpah was one of the
sensations of the season. It is the first time in the history of
Palestinian archaeology that an ancient city gate has been
found so well preserved. The door-sockets, the door-stop
against which the double-winged gate closed, the long slot in
which the iron bar rested, the stone seats at the entrance where
174
NOTES AND NEWS.
the judges gave decisions, and the gate-keeper's room from which
he could ascend to the gate-tower — these and other features
serve to illustrate Biblical descriptions in a way that has not
hitherto been possible."
By an arrangement with Sir Flinders Petrie, Members of the
P.E.F. are enabled to purchase at half the published price the
Reports of the British School of Archaeology in Egypt dealing with
the Society’s researches in Palestine. Reciprocally, the excavation
Reports of the P.E.F. henceforth issued are available to Members
of the School in Egypt similarly at half-price. P.E.F. Members
desirous of taking advantage of this privilege should apply to the
Secretary, 2, Hinde Street, W.l.
Antiques for Sale v — A small collection of antiquities from the
excavations at Ophel is on view at the Museum of the Fund,
2, Hinde Street, Manchester Square, W.l, and a number of duplicates
including pottery lamps, stamped Rhodian jar-handles, etc., are
on sale.
Miss 0. M. Finn has kindly presented to the Fund seven pieces
of Archaic G-reek pottery, five vases of which are certified by the
British Museum as Corinthian ware dating from the seventh century,
b.c. Miss Finn instructs that they be offered for sale, and that the
proceeds be devoted to the work of the Fund. Interested collectors
are invited to call at 2, Hinde Street, and inspect them.
We have further to thank Miss Finn for the recent gift of sundry
diagrams and photographs, books, a walnut portfolio stand, botanical
specimens, coins, and other objects, which will be of use in connection
with the forthcoming re-organisation of the Fund’s collection.
Churches at Jerash . — A Preliminary Report of the Joint Yale-
British School Expeditions to Jerash, 1928-1930, by J. W.
Crowfoot, C.B.E., M.A., has been published as Supplementary Paper
NOTES AND NEWS.
175
No. 3 by the Council of the British School of Archaeology in
Jerusalem, and can be obtained at 2, Hinde Street. Price 5s.
The reduced price to members of the P.E.F. or B.S.A.J. is 2s. 6d.
The library of the Palestine Exploration Fund contains some
duplicate volumes. They may be purchased, and a list, with
the price of each volume, has been prepared, and can be obtained
on application.
The list of books received will be found on p. 176.
It may be well to mention that plans and photographs alluded
to in the reports from Jerusalem and elsewhere cannot all be
published, but they are preserved in the office of the Fund, where
they may be seen by subscribers.
The Committee gratefully acknowledge the following special
contribution from George Mathieson, Esq., £20.
. Subscriptions and Income Tan. — Subscribers may, if they
wish, covenant to pay their subscriptions for seven years, thereby
enabling the Fund to benefit by the recovery of Income Tax thereon.
A form of covenant was issued with the July Quarterly Statement ,
and copies of this form may be had on application to the Assistant
Secretary.
The Committee gratefully acknowledge receipt of the forms
already completed.
A complete set of the Quarterly Statements , 1869-1910, containing
some of the early letters (now scarce), with an index, 1869-1910, bound
in the Palestine Exploration Fund cases, can be had. Price on application
to the Secretary, 2, Hinde Street, Manchester Square, W.l.
176
NOTES AND NEWS,
The price of a complete set of the translations published by the
Palestine Pilgrims 1 Text Society, in 13 volumes, with general index,
bound in cloth, is £15 15s, Subscriber’s price £14 14s. A catalogue
describing the contents of each volume can be had on application to
the Secretary, 2, Hinde Street, Manchester Square, W.l.
The Museum at the Office of the Fund, 2, Hinde Street, Manchester
Square, W.l, is open to visitors every week-day fromlO o’clock till 5 except
Saturdays, when it is closed at 1 p.m.
The Committee have to acknowledge with thanks the following : —
Posthumous Essays . By Harold M. Wiener, ed. by H. .Loewe.
Oxford University Press. 7s. 6d.
The Near East , July 21. Development in Palestine.
Jericho : City and Necropolis. By John Garstang. From the
Liverpool Annals of Art and Archeology, vol. xix, 3 -2.
The Antiquaries Journal .
The Expository Times , August. Recent Biblical Archaeology, by
the Rev. J. W. Jack.
The New Judaea , June-July. Sea-wards (Jewish interests in the
Mediterranean), by D. Ben-Gurion.
Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, April. Reports
on the work of the school in Jerusalem, by Director Burrows ;
new light on early Canaan ite language and literature, by W. F.
Albright ; new publications in the history and archaeology of
Palestine ; two Greek inscriptions from Beit Ras, by C. C. McCown.
Journal of the American Oriental Society, June.
Supplement to the Bulletin of the American Institute for Persian Art and
Archaeology, March. Excavations at Tureng Tepe near Asterabad,
by F. R. Wulsin.
Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), June. A lead
sarcophagus from Syria.
The Museum Journal, Philadelphia, xxiii, 2.
American Journal of Philology .
Homiletic Review.
Jewish Quarterly Review , July. The Am Haaretz, by S. Zeitlin.
Geographical Review.
Ain Shems Excavations , 1928-31, Part 1. By Elihu Grant, with a
chapter on the history by I. F. Wood. Haverford College, Penn. 1931.
NOTES AND NEWS.
177
Journal Asiatique, January-March. “ Minoan ” archives from Mallia.
Revue Biblique, July, The route of the Exodus from Goshen to Marah,
by 0. Bourdon ; two Sabaean expiatory inscriptions, by G.
Ryekmans ; new (Greek) inscriptions from the Jebel Druze and the
Hauran, by M. Dunand ; an Egypto-Moabite stele from Baiu’a, by
G. Horsfield and Father Vincent.
Syria, xiii, 1. Summary report of the Third Season's excavations at
Minet el-Beida and Ras Shamra, by F.-A. Claude Schaeffer ; the
people of Japhet after Gen. x, by Edouard Dhonne ; Syrian antiqui-
ties, by Henri Seyrig ; the exhibition of Persian art at London, by
Gaston Wiet.
Archiv fur Orientforschung , viii, 1-2. An Aramaic treaty of the 8th
cent. B.C., by Hans Bauer ; full survey of excavations in the Near
East, by Peter Thomsen, and others.
Zeitschrift des Deuischen Palastina- V ereins, lv, 1-2. The topography
of the Battle of Kadesh, by A. Alt ; the new excavations at Tell
Ghassul, by R. Koppel ; the story of Ehud and Eglon, by 0.
Glaser ; results of a geological expedition to Palestine, by P. -Range ;
inscriptions from Capernaum (by E. L. Sukenik) and Gadara (by
J. Jeremias).
Orientalistische Literaturzeitung , July. The old Canaanite epic >;
Ras Shamra, by I). H. Baneth.
Mitk.ilungen des deutschen Archdolog. Institute : Atkenische abteilung,
Ivi, 1931.
Association e J nfernazionale Studi Mediterranei : BoUetino , April-May
The excavations at TeLeilat Ghassul in Transjordania, by Alexis
Mallon.
Clara Rhodas. Part I. Sculptural Monuments in the Archaeological
Museum at Rliodes. Amedes Maiuri ; Part II, The same, by Giulio
Jacopi : Temple and Theatre of Apollo, by Giulio Jacopi ; Part III,
The same, by Luciano Laurenzi. Istituto Storico Archeologico,
Rodi, 1932. ~
History ( Toledoth ) of the Arabs and Moslems in the land of Israel. By
Zeeb Vilnai. Two vols. (in Hebrew), published by Stybel, Tel- Aviv.
1932.
La, Revue de TAcadennie Arabe , Damascus.
Al-Mashrik.
NEA SIGN.
Bible Lands .
178
NOTES AND NEWS.
The Committee will be grateful to any subscribers who may be disposed
to present to the Fund any of the following books : —
The Memoirs of the Survey of Western Palestine .
The Quarterly Statement , from 1869 up to date.
Due de Luynes, Voijage a la Mer Morte (1864) ; published about 1874.
K. von Raumer, Der Zug der Isrdliten . (Leipzig, 1887).
Lagarde, Onomastica Sacra (1887).
Le Strange, Palestine Under the Moslems (1890).
New Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, English Translation. Original
text edited, formulated, and punctuated by Michael L. Rodkinson.
Revised and corrected by the Rev. Dr. Isaac M. Wise. Published
by the New Amsterdam Book Company, New York. Vol. i.
Sabbath already in the Library ; subsequent volumes wanted.
Whilst desiring to give publicity to proposed identification
and other theories advanced by officers of the Fund and contributors
to the pages of the Quarterly Statement , the Committee wish it to
be distinctly understood that by publishing them in the Quarterly
Statement they do not necessarily sanction or adopt them.
Form of Bequest to the Palestine Exploration Fund.
I give to the Palestine Exploration Fund, London, the sum of
to be applied towards the General Work of the Fund ; and I direct that the
Baid sum be paid, free of legacy Duty, and that the Receipt of the Treasurer
of the Palestine Exploration Fund shall be a sufficient discharge for the same.
Note. — Three Witnesses are necessary to a Will by the Law of the United
States of America , and Two by the Law of the United Kingdom .
179
POTS, ANCIENT AND MODERN.
By Grace M. Crowfoot.
Those who watch the changing scene in Palestine are often surprised
at the rapid triumph of the new over the old, but perhaps as often
surprised by the persistence of ancient customs and uses throughout
this modernization. In Bebustiya, for instance, the horse has
become extinct as a consequence of the introduction of the auto-
mobile ; where once twenty were kept before the war, now none
exist. But, on the other hand, customs and crafts, often extremely
primitive in character, still continue. Such crafts are of especial
interest to the archaeologist, as they throw light on the humbler
fragments turning up in excavations, and we have had more than
one example of this at Samaria, notably as concerns the pottery*
None is now made at Bebustiya itself, but there are several places
in the district where the craft is practised ; for example, hand-made
ware, without a wheel, is made by women at Kufr Lebbad, Sinjil,
Balata, and other villages near Nablus, while wheel-made pottery
is made by men at Jeba and Nablus. Our visits to some of these
potters, and study, though cursory, of their craft, have had most
suggestive results as the following accounts will show.
An Israelite Footbath . — In one of the Israelite tomb pits on the
west of the Stadium, among a mass of pottery of about the viiithand
ixth century, B.e.. was found the fragments of a vessel which, after
reconstruction, received the name of the u footbath, 55 from its
suggestive shape, having a stand in the centre like the footrest of a
shoeblack’s box (Fig. 1). This vessel is in a coarse greyish to buff
ware, greyish-black at break, which had been covered with a red
slip burnished, now much worn away. It is oval in shape, 60 c. long
and 40 c. broad, has straight sides 16 c. high, and a flat base ;
below the rim inside are four ledge handles, so that it could be
lifted by two persons ; at the base is a nozzle, and in the centre a
stand, just the right size and shape for a footrest, 12 c. high and
14 c. long. Fragments of at least two more similar vessels were
found in a great rock trench full of Israelite pottery , probably
remains of tomb offerings, below the hill on the east side of the
180
POTS, ANCIENT AND MODERN.
village above the path leading to Nakura. So far as we knew,
the shape had not been found before ; we had nothing to compare
it with, ancient or modern.*
In July, 1931, two of our party had the opportunity of visiting
Sinjil, a village about 20 miles from Nablus, where the women
make large water jars and other ware by hand, ornamented with
designs in dark red, very similar to those made at Ramallah.
A selection of the ware was set out under a tree for our inspection,
and among the pots we saw a bowl that struck us at once by its
resemblance to our Israelite <c footbath ” (Fig. 2). It was not
exactly identical with it, either in ware or shape ; the ancient vessel
was oval, the modem round ; the ancient ware covered with a red
slip burnished, the modern with a yellowish slip painted with
designs in dark red : the modern footrest, too, instead of having
two supporting pillars, like the ancient one, had but one, while
the other end ran into the bowl edge ; still, the resemblance was
astonishing. On enquiry we found that the modern bowl is actually
used for the ritual washing of feet before prayer, and is called wadii ;
in using it the foot is placed on the rest and water poured over
it.
Later on, when visiting the potters of Jeba, we found a wheel-
made bowl, with a simple pillar and knob in the centre, being
made for the same purpose, and called by the same name .(Fig. 3).
More recently still, we have acquired, through Miss L. Balden-
sperger, a very rude bowl in heavy grey ware, with a similar footrest
to our Sinjil example, made at Nahalin, a village near Beit Izkariye,
in the Hebron district. She tells us that this bowl is used by women
for ablution at prayers, and is called by them U mm Sail, “ Mother of
Prayer As our ancient examples were found in tombs, we think
it may be presumed that they, like their modern counterparts,
were used for ritual ablutions.
Some Mediceval Cooking Pots . — In the season of 1931 a certain
amount of pottery was found in a small room at the west end of the
Church of St. John the Baptist. This room had obviously been
nsed as a kitchen, perhaps by a priest, who may have had his bedroom
in another room above, to which steps ascended, or perhaps, later still
* We have since heard that a similar vessel has been found by Dr. Bade at
Tell en-Nesbi.
POTS, ANCIENT AND MODERN.
181
after tlie ruin of the church, by some squatter ; it may have been
in use as late as the xvth century. The pottery consisted of a fine jug
in drab to reddish ware, decorated with geometrical patterns in a
very dark purplish red on a buff slip, of late Arab type ; a bowl in
coarse ware with a brownish slip burnished and decorated with
rows of holes punched below the rim ; a lamp ; a complete cooking
pot, and fragments of another— in fact, quite a complete kitchen
equipment.
We hope at some future time to discuss the. affinity between
the Arab painted ware and the modern painted ware of Sinjil and
Ramallah, but here we are only concerned with the cooking pot
ware.
Type .1.
Type 2.
Type 3.
Fig. 6.
The complete pot (Fig. 4, Type 1) is in a coarse drab ware, with a
thin slip of the same colour, burnished ; it has a ridge rudely
waved round the body and two small waved ridges in front only,
below the rim ; the base is rounded, and at the vsid.es are handles,
convenient rounded loops for lifting it by. An examination of the
ware at break shows bright shining grits in vsome quantity, to which
we shall return.
The fragmentary pot (Fig. 5, Type 2) could not be recon-
structed, but it appeared to be of similar shape to the other, though
.slightly smaller ; it was also of similar ware, but had a different
ornament, a band with impressed finger prints ; the handles also
were different, ear-shaped, each pierced with a hole and projecting
in an oddly archaic fashion. The handle of Pot 1 is shown in Fig. 6
(1), and that of Pot 2 in Fig. 6 (2).
182
POTS, ANCIENT AND MODERN.
Fragments of other pots in coarser yellowish brown ware, showing
shining grits, with handles of Type 2, larger and projecting more
widely still from the side of the pot, were found with fragments of
bowls and dishes in brown and green glazed ware outside the East
wall of the Church.
Similar Ware from Other Sites. Cooking Pot 1 . — A cooking pot
was found by Mr. Chitty at the Monastery of St. Euthymius, about
5 ft. below the modern surface ground level and the same distance
above the pavement of the Monastery, N.E. of the Tomb Block.
It has been protected by the springing of a semi-vault supporting
a staircase, and signs of fire were noticed near it. From its position,
Mr. Chitty thinks it may date from the XIVth or XVth century.
The pot is in a coarse drab ware, with traces of crude burnishing,
and glittering specks can be seen at break. The ware, the shape
of the pot and its handles, all show close resemblances to our Type 1 .
Cooking Pot 2. — A complete cooking pot with large eared handles,
pierced with holes, similar to the handles of our Type 2, was found
at Beth Shemesh in 1931. Dr. Grant has kindly given permission
to mention this pot, as yet unpublished. It came from the site of
the Byzantine Monastery, fairly near the surface, with fragments of
others, all agreeing in their main features, especially in having
grotesque handles.
Sir Flinders Petrie has also found a handle at Tell Ajjul (1932)
which is very similar to that of our Type 2, it is in a coarse ware with
large shining grits, covered with a yellowish brown slip burnished.
This handle was found in surface layers, with fine Arab painted
ware which has been assigned to the Xth century, a.d. (Fig, 11).
I am indebted for this to Mr. Kichmond Brown. All the examples
mentioned therefore belong to the mediseval period.
Comparison with Modern Cooking Pots. — On the discovery of
our mediseval cooking pots at Sebustiya, we noticed that Type 1
• was extremely like the pots used at the present day in the village,
and made in Kufr Lebbad, near Tul Karem ; the handles, in particu-
lar, though not identical with ours, were very similar and set on
at the same angle. The handles of Type 2, on the other hand,
could not be paralleled by any seen in use in our neighbourhood,
but strikingly resembled the handles of the cooking pots used in
Jerusalem, and made at Jib, not far from Bamallah. The ware of
POTS, ANCIENT AND MODERN.
183
our pots also seemed to resemble the modem ware from both these
places, with its shining grits showing even through the burnished
surface.
These strong resemblances in shape and ware roused our interest
in the modern craft, and we visited both Kufr Lebbad and Jib,
and also, finding a woman from Kufr Lebbad who had married
into a family at Sebustiya, we persuaded her to make some pots
to our order at the camp, so that we could study the process in
detail.
The resemblances in ware noted between the ancient and modern
fabrics were strikingly confirmed and elucidated. Both at Kufr
Lebbad and Jib, the clay is deliberately mixed with crystalline
calcite ground fine, in the proportion of one part calcite to two of
clay. Mr. Guy has kindly had a fragment of the medieval Sebustiya
pot (Type 1) examined at Megiddo by Mr. Lamon, who reports
that it contains many large and small pieces of crystalline calcite
in such a proportion as to make it certain that the calcite could not
have been present naturally in the clay. With the evidence of the
modern use to support this, we feel it safe to say that the glittering
appearance of our old pot is caused, like that of the new, by the
deliberate admixture of crystalline calcite with the clay.
The handles (Type 2) found east of the church also contained
crystalline calcite in excess of any quantity that could have been
present naturally, as well as a good deal of carbonized and calcified
straw. The handle from Tell Ajjul also contains a large proportion
of crystalline calcite that must have been added intentionally.
The following account gives details of the way in which the
pots are made by the women of Kufr Lebbad (see Big. 7) :
The Clay. The clay is grey in colour, very calcareous and con-
taining a few small pieces of crystalline calcite ; it is brought to
Kufr Lebbad from Burka, two or three hours away. The women
say that the clay is so good that it can be used with very little
preparation ; occasionally they have to wash it, but we did not see
this done.
The Calcite. Crystalline calcite, in largish pieces, is brought on
camel back from Kufr Qaddum, 5 m. west of Sebustiya. It is first
broken up by hand with small hammer stones on larger stones,
and non-crystalline fragments rejected. Then it is ground by two
184
POTS, ANCIENT AND MODERN.
women in the stone hand mill, and finally sieved ; it now appears
like a coarse white powder.
The Mixture . The formula for the mixture is " two-thirds clay
and one-third calcite 55 ( Tilten tin w-tilt malih) ; it is carefully
measured out with a small round basket. When enough has been
mixed, water is added, and the clay is well kneaded.
Resting . After mixing the clay should be left for a little while,
though this is not always done. One informant said that it should
be rested for a day, but others said that it was better to leave it for
two or three days.
Building the Pots. First Day. — The common practice is to begin
making the pots on the afternoon of one day and finish them on the
morning of the next. The potter chooses a smooth place to work
on, preferably a roof or other place with a hard beaten floor. She
slaps a great lump of clay down on the floor and begins by thrusting
her fist into the middle of it, fashioning it thus into a rude hollow
shape. Then she begins shaping it with one hand inside and the
other outside, until it has become a large shallow bowl. Occasionally
she rises and walks round and round the bowl with her hands on it,
like a kind of human wheel. Finally stones are placed all round it
for fear that it should sag and it is left to stand till next day.
The pot is now complete till just below the handles.
Second Day. — The pot is now reckoned firm enough to support
the handles, these are rolled out sausage-wise and at first stand
upright ; and it is only as the clay hardens that they are gradually
forced out to project at an angle from the sides. The next portion
of rim is also rolled out into a coil or sausage before it is applied,
and is afterwards thinned out with the hands, finally small pieces
are added where necessary to even up the rim. No shaping or
smoothing with any tool was seen—all is done with the hands, with
much skill ; a most graceful gesture is the smoothing with the
right hand, forefinger and thumb outside the rim.
Turning . — After two or three days drying, when the condition
of the pot is right, as we should say, “ leather hard,” it is trimmed
with a knife ( Jchosa ), the “ turning ” of the English potter. The
pot at this moment has still the flat base acquired by being pressed
down on the ground while it was being shaped, and the base now has
to be made round. This is done with the knife, which has the blade
POTS, ANCIENT AND MODERN.
185
in the middle and is held by both hands, one at each end, a sort of
spokeshave, in fact. The handles are also trimmed until their
contours satisfy the potter’s taste.
Burnishing. — (Fig. 9). The pot is now ready for burnishing.
The potter smears a slip, made from the same clay as the pot, all
over it, and polishes it by rubbing it with a smooth cockle shell,
inside and out. In the case where we were able to watch the
process from first to last the potter had a small pot. with water and
a lump of clay beside her, and mixed the slip a little at a time,
burnishing over it and then adding a little more. In the later
stages she added smaller fragments of clay and less water until
for the last delicate touches she contented herself with licking the
shell. This burnishing is a very slow process ; to get a really good
shine, a woman will work at a pot for the best part of a day ; the
lines of burnishing, as far as our observation goes are straight up and
down for the bottom of the pot and round and round for the rim
and the body. The shell, a smooth cockle (; zelafi ) is brought from
the seashore where this kind is plentiful ; it is held with the fore-
finger inside it, as is well shown in the photograph (Fig. 11), for
which I am indebted to Mrs. New.
Ornament . — Our friend in Sebustiya told us that she remembered,
when she was a little girl, seeing her mother colouring the rim of
some of her pots with a red slip made from red potsherds, and
burnishing over it, but we saw no attempt at decoration on any pot
at Kufr Lebbad, and the women, when questioned said : “ What
is the use of ornamenting a cooking pot ? 55
Drying . — The cooking pots have to be dried further before firing ;
the common practice is to put them inside the oven-house (tabim),
in the recess where the fuel is kept ; this is said to prevent cracking.
It is called “ smoking 55 (mudakhkhan).
Firing . — This is done in an open kiln (mishwa). The potter
watches till the wind is right for her purpose, just enough breeze to
keep her fire lively, and then builds her pile of pots very carefully,
all propped up on their sides with their mouths to the wind. Then
she piles the fuel over them, dried branches of prickly pear being
preferred to any other. When building the kiln at Sebustiya the
potter used also some worn out Expedition baskets and was not
pleased with the result as they gave ofi too much smoke. The
186
POTS, ANCIENT AND MODERN.
firing takes about an hour and freslx fuel is thrown on from time to
time ; the potter judges when they are sufficiently baked by their
appearance — revealed by brushing a little of the burnt material
away — and then fishes them out one by one with a long stick.
Other hinds of Pottery made. — Besides the cooking pots (kidri
phi. ikdur) the women make flat dishes with two handles used for
cooking eggs (mikla), lids for the cooking pots ( ghata ), bowls for
children to eat from ( kudhiya ), large round kneading dishes (batye)
all in the same ware.
The Making of Cooking Pots at Jib. — (See Fig. 8). Our study of
the craft here is not so complete as that at Kuf r Lebbad, but we learnt
enough to be sure that the process in the main is similar ; there is
the same admixture of ..crystalline calcite with the clay, the hand-
shaping without a tool, and the firing in an open kiln. The chief
differences noted are :
At Jib the handles are similar to the perforated lug handles of
our Sebastiya type 2 (Fig. 10) ; the pot is shaped on a platter or
gdlib of sunbaked clay, which can be moved by hand when desired ;
instead of being supported with stones the pot is carried higher on
the first day and is bound round with bands of rag ; and a very
perfunctory polishing with a bit of cane (bits) takes the place of
the shell polishing. There is also an attempt at ornamentation,
simple patterns being made on the shoulders of the pot by pricking
holes with a bit of wire. The only other form seen was a very
large bowl with four handles used as a washing bowl, and called
sifil.
Conclusions . — The most interesting facts learnt in this study
are three : (1) The survival of two mediaeval types of cooking pot
at Kufr Lebbad and Jib respectively, of which we have already
given illustrations.
(2) The survival of the practice of mixing crystalline calcite
with the clay.
Why is this addition made ? There are two chief kinds of
substances commonly added to clay in pot making, (a) Opening
or hardening materials used to counteract any tendency of the
clay to become deformed or crack during firing, e.g quartz, pre-
viously baked clay (grog), etc. ; (b) Materials which are able to
render the clay impermeable to water, e.g., fluxes such as felspar.
Palestine Exploration Fund.
Plate. 11
Pig. 9. — .Shell BUBxrsinxG at Kufr Lebbad.
POTS, ANCIENT AND MODERN.
187
Calcite is usually placed in the second group. It decomposes at a
low temperature which renders it useless ordinarily as a 44 grog/’
but the lime produced by this decomposition leads to the formation
of a cement and so assists in the “ waterproofing ” of the pot.
In the sherds examined many pieces of calcite are seen shining,
obviously not decomposed under the primitive condition of firing.
It may therefore have been added as a hardening material instead
of 44 grog, 5 ’ perhaps in imitation of an earlier use of quartz which
is not easily obtainable in Palestine. But it is also possible that
enough of the fine powder obtained by grinding has been burnt to
assist in rendering the pot impermeable to water.
The women, too, as far as we could gather, certainly regard it as
something more than the ordinary 44 grog,” as they told us that it
was impossible to make a good cooking-pot without it, and laughed
at the suggestion that the crushed pot-sherds used in making jars
at Sinjil might be employed instead. They consider that the addition
of the calcite renders the pot better able to stand the fire. The
addition may perhaps be compared to that of silica, a large pro-
portion of which is added to the clay in the manufacture of
modern fire proof pottery. Calcite could only be a substitute
under the most primitive conditions.
Finally (3), the survival of the burnishing. This is extremely
interesting as it was so common in early days in Palestine and
elsewhere. The shell was very likely used then also for the purpose,
as specimens are often found during the excavations, and they are
favourite burnishers in primitive countries, such as the Sudan.
We have not yet come across another instance of the practice in
Palestine, but at Suf, in Trans-Jordan, the women who make
large water jars by hand also make smaller jars which they burnish
with a smooth pebble (midlak). This burnishing, in ancient as
in modem use, also increases impermeability to water, besides
being an ornament.
These cooking pots are poorly baked in an open fire, and it
seems to be these laborious processes, the admixture of calcite and
the burnishing, which have enabled them to hold their own in the
local market.
Q
188
THE MONASTERY OF ST. EUTHYMIUS.
By the Rev. Derwas J. Chitty, M.A.
A summary of the history of this monastery, with that of the
sister foundation of St. Theoctistus, will be found in the Quarterly
Statement for July, 1928. Much of the most important material
is there in small print. Our knowledge from literary sources, so far
as it concerns the buildings, may be tabulated as follows : —
About A.D. 425-7. Euthymius and Domitian settle “ in a small
cave, in which now is the grave of his precious relic.’ 5 Peter Aspebet
(the converted Arab sheikh), bringing craftsmen, makes a great
XatcKos Blctto/jLck; “ still preserved in the garden, 55 and a bakery
close by : and for the saint he made three cells, and an Oratory
or Church (ev/crrjp to v rjroi ifCfcXrjcriav) in the midst of the cells {fxecrov
toxv KeWbcov — this detail is added from an unpublished 10th
century MS. of the life in the library of Christ Church, Oxford, —
Wake 67). It is to be noticed that Peter’s intention was to settle
himself and his tribe on the spot — only when Peter had done the
work, Euthymius insisted on being left alone.
A.D. 428. — Eleven more join Euthymius, who establishes a Laura
after the type of Fara. He gets Peter to build them small cells
(scattered about the desert), and KocrfArjcrcu rrjv ifcfcXrjcrLav
tc6<rfjL(p ttolvtL Archbishop Juvenal consecrates the Church of
the Laura on 7th May, 428 A.D.
Jan. 20th, 473 A.D. — St. Euthymius dies. The Deacon Fidus
(of the Jerusalem Church) builds the Cemetery in the place of the
cave where Euthymius first settled, “ which cave he destroyed, and
in only three months built a great and wonderful vaulted house,
and in the middle made the grave of the Saint, and on each side the
graves of abbots and priests and other holy men. 55
May 7th, 473 A.D. — Archbishop Anastasius transfers the relic
of the Saint to this grave, and fixes the slab (which is brought down
from Jerusalem) over it, with the surrounding tcdy/ceXa, and a
silver x&vt] (funnel-shaped lamp or vase holding oil) fixed above
the Saint’s breast.
THE MONASTERY OF ST. EUTHYMIUS.
189
479-82 A.D. — Fidus, at last fulfilling the Saint’s behest, converts
the Laura into a Coenobium, destroying all the cells of the Laura
from their foundations. With one and a crowd of
craftsmen and much v7rovpjLa } he built the Coenobium, walled
it round, and fortified it. He turned the old Church into a
Refectory, and built the new Church above it (m repavwQev).
Also he built a tower within the Coenobium, at once very strong and
very beautiful (cf. the Qasr of the Nitrian Monasteries, etc.). And
the Cemetery was already there (<rvvecf>da<je) in the middle of the
Coenobium. The Tower and the Gate-House projecting from the
Monastery were on the side of the Plain (i.e. the North). Note
the mention of the two great cisterns of the monastery being filled
with sudden rain. Also note that St. Cyriac was sent at this time
to procure airKojfMara (altar-cloths, veils, etc.) for the Church from
Alexandria.
May 7th, 4S2 A.D. — Archbishop Martyrius consecrates the
Church, laying under the altar relics of the martyrs, Tarachus,
Probus and Andronicus.
659-60 A.D. — The Monastery of Abba Euthymius overthrown
by an earthquake (Revue de V Orient Chretien , /F., pp. 323-4. —
Opuscules Maronites translated from the Syriac by Nau).
About 730-40 A.D. — Anastasius, hegoumen of St. Euthymius,
in controversy with St. John of Damascus.
Late 8th Century. — The Monastery mentioned in life of St.
Stephen the Sabaite, and in the account of the Martyrdom of the
20 Monks at Mar Saba.
About 1000 A.D. — St. Lazarus of the Galesian Mountain spends
some time at St. Euthymius when in disgrace from Mar Saba.
About 1106 A.D. — Daniel the Russian describes the Monastery
(note that his <e all this has been destroyed by infidels ” need only
refer to St. Theoctistus).
1185 A.D. — John Phocas describes the Monastery “ walled
around with towers and great battlements. And m tbe middle of
it stands the Church, it also having its roof barrel-vaulted
{fcv\tvhp(orrjv\ and below it is a cave, and in the middle of it the
Tomb of the Great Euthymius, like the monument of the God-
190
THE MONASTERY OF ST. EUTHYMIUS.
bearing Saba, it also covered with white marble : in which also
were laid up the relics of the Holy Fathers Passarion and Domitian”
1184-7 A.D. — The Iberian Monk-Priest Gabriel, grievously
deceived by the devil at Mar Saba, comes to St. Buthymius and
stays there till Salahuddin 5 s conquest, when he flees to Mar Saba,
but is captured by Arabs and carried off to Damascus.
Whether the Monastery was destroyed by Salahuddin or by
Beibars, and whether the latest buildings, with pointed arches, are
monastic or belong to some khan which may have replaced the
monastery on Beibars 5 institution of the Nebi Musa pilgrimage, is
not yet clear. A coin of En-Nasir Salahuddin, found on the floor
of the courtyard between the Church and the Tomb, proves nothing.
The plan (PJ. I.) gives an idea of the general position of the ruins,
between two shallow valleys which come together just south of the
monastery, as described in the Life. It will be noted that on the
hill to the East of the Monastery is a double-mouthed cistern of
the ordinary desert type, with remains of an encircled Cross in the
plaster on its Eastern wall. This instantly suggests the cistern
made by Peter Aspebet in 427, and the fine grain-pit close by, with
other more fragmentary remains, fit in with the placing of the
bakery here. Clearly Aspebet's plan was to make his bedouin
encampment on this Eastern hill, facing, but still just separate
from, the Church and the Saint's cell (the Saint was a Priest) on the
hill where the ruins of the Coenobium now stand. On this Eastern
hill, then, was later made the garden of the Coenobium.
The great cistern (PI. IV, 1) which occupies the valley between these
two hills is of finer workmanship than any of the other ruins, and sug-
gests labour belonging to the wider world. Possibly it is the work
of Fidus — the vaulting of the Cemetery that he built, and of the
vault under the Prothesis of the Church, is the only thing remaining
that is comparable to it in the ruins. Otherwise we may conjecture
that it dates from the later years of Justinian, after the writing of
the Life, in which no mention seems to be made of it. It consists
of two aisles, barrel-vaulted with fine large masonry, and separated
from each other by an arcade of round arches. It has four orifices
in the roof, and one at the North end of its Eastern aisle, through
which a channel brought in the water from the plain to the north.
But two other openings appear to be blocked at the ends : it is
THE MONASTERY OP ST. EUTHYMITJS.
191
known to the Arabs as the Well of the Seven Mouths. This is
identical with the Greek name, f E7 rraaro/xo^^ of a cistern 1|- miles
North of Mar Saba, and the Laura (probably the ruins now known
as Khirbet Jinjis) which was founded near to it. The stones which
now form the mouth of the deep well outside the North wall of the
monastery were brought from the roof of the great cistern a generation
ago.
After mentioning the foundations of a small watch-tower on the
crest of the spur some 200 yards North of the Monastery, we may
turn our attention to the main block of ruins. Their general plan
answers very well to what we should expect from the Life — a
Coenobium confined within a roughly rectangular surrounding
wall. But at least on half the length of the Northern side, this
wall was rebuilt in Mediaeval times, and the fine pointed arch of
the doorway here has deceived the casual observer as to the ruins
behind. Certain other remains within the ruins are clearly of the
same date as this door, and it is not yet clear whether they are
monastic or later.
Towards the South side of the ruins, the Church was clearly
indicated before excavation began, by its three Apses on the Eastern
retaining wall of the Monastery. And it was natural to identify the
great vault underneath the Nave with the Ref ectory that replaced
the original small Church of the Laura. Apart from this, the mass
of half -filled and half -broken-down vaults was a somewhat confusing
medley, but the fine vaulting of one chamber in the middle of the
ruins guided us to what proved a true conjecture that here was the
Cemetery of the Saint. This was further supported by the tra-
dition among the villagers of Silwan, who now own the site, that
this was the most holy place in the ruins.
Excavation in 1927 uncovered the East end of the Church, as far
as the first piers. We also made a sounding which confirmed our
suspicions in the Cemetery. In 1928 we uncovered the whole floor
of the Church and the Cemetery vault, and most of the court between
them. In 1929 we cleared most of the East wall of the Church,
uncovered the floor of the vault under the Prothesis, and of the great
vault under the Nave, and began to get some idea of the structures
at the West front of the Church. We also cleared the small Sacristy
next to the Prothesis, and that opening onto the South Aisle of the
Church, and found a fragmentary mosaic floor outside the South wall
192
THE MONASTERY OF ST. EUTHYMIUS.
of the Church at its Eastern end, slightly above the level of the
Church floor. We also isolated the Cemetery block, opening up
the proper entry to it by a staircase on the North side, revealing the
corridor at the West front of the block, completing the clearing of the
cistern head in the court between Cemetery and Church, and
clearing the little Mediaeval vault which fills the space between the
Cemetery block and the buildings to the East. We also investigated
under the floor of the Cemetery vault. Finally, in two short periods
in 1930, we cleared the chapel on top of the Cemetery block, and. made
soundings to help to clarify the plan at the West front of the Church,
on the South side of the ruins, and North of the Cemetery block.
We could not hope for much evidence as to the plan or
architecture of the Laura, knowing that the cells had been destroyed
to their foundations, and the Church replaced by a larger building
over the top of it. But, once we knew the position of the Cemetery,
we knew the position of the cave in which the Saint had first settled :
and our investigations under its floor brought us to what was
probably the ground-level in his day. Also, the later Church
showed us where to look for the older one, and here foundations
in the Central Vault, not in quite the same orientation as the vault
itself, tempted us to the conjecture that we had found the outline
of the N. West corner of the original little Church, the flagged
floor of its Narthex, the foundations of its Western wall and of the
partition wall between Church and Narthex. The plain mosaic
found here probably dated from the use of the vault as the Refectory.
• To the three months immediately following the Saint's death
(473) belongs the building of the vaulted Cemetery. But this had
continued to be used for burial in later times, and its original
disposition had clearly been altered. To the same date as this
vault we should like to assign the vault under the Prothesis. This
latter is full of peculiarities. It is proved older than the Upper
Church : its north wall lies beyond the outside of the Church wall
built on top of it, and it once projected at least further East than
the inner face of the East wall of the Church which now blocks it.
Up to the level from which the vault springs, it was originally
coated with a very great thickness of cement on a basis of potsherds,
which is continued into the thickness of the Eastern wall (gaps
being left where the cement has fallen away since this wall was
built). The North wall of the vault was made with a view to this
THE MONASTERY OF ST. EUTHYMIUS.
193
cement coating, and never properly faced. But the walls on its
South and East sides seem to be older than the vault, showing a
smooth face behind the cement, and being slightly out of alignment
with the actual vault they support. It is to be noted that this
difference in orientation is shared by these walls, the foundations
in the floor of the central vault, the actual West wall of the Church,
the cistern-head North of the Church, and the Cemetery- Vault, as
against the actual vault under the Pro thesis, the North, East, and
South walls of the Church, and the South wall of the superstructure
above the Cemetery- Vault.
But what was the actual vault under the Prothesis built for ?
The cement suggests that it was to hold water, but it is in a somewhat
impossible position for a cistern. It is in a position in which
Baptisteries have been found (cf. St. John Baptist’s Church at
Jerash), and it may be that this was once the purpose of our vault.
But I confess that I am not myself satisfied with this suggestion.
When the East wall was built, a square aperture w r as made through it
about a metre above the level of the floor of the vault, and afterwards
deepened by the removal of one more stone (on the floor of this
passage we found an Umayyad coin). May the chamber have
served as a granary ? An excavation of the rest of the vault under
the North aisle might help to clear the matter. At present we do
not know whether there was any opening in the wall that separated
the Chamber from the rest of the vault. At some period not before
the building of the Eastern wall, two low partitions were built across
the chamber from East to West, leaving a passage between them
corresponding with the aperture in the East wall. At some period or
other, at least the Northern trough thus formed was used for a tomb
— we found in it the main bones of three skeletons, though no skulls ;
and the Crosses smoked on the roof of the vault above this Northern
trough (and not elsewhere) may have some connection with this*
Is it at all possible that this was also the original purpose of the vault %
Might it be that Fidus did for Domitian as he did forEuthymius,
and that this vault was his tomb replacing his cell % Again I am
not satisfied with the suggestion, and the Life gives no evidence
for it. But it would account for the similarity of the vaulting with
that of the Cemetery of Euthymius.
Unless the West wall of the Church, with its slightly different
alignment, be older, or along an older line, than the rest, we may
194
THE MONASTERY OF ST. EUTHYMIUS.
take it that the main containing walls of the Church are of one date,
subsequent in any case to the Vault under the Prothesis. There
seems no strong reason against attributing them to the Coenobium
Buildings of 479-82 a.d. The South-Eastern corner was
strengthened by a square buttress. The range of buildings running
South from this buttress is of later date. The small Sacristy
projecting from further along the South wall may be original (the
monk's stone-and-plaster bed along its Western side is probably
later). That adjoining the Prothesis is also original — its East wall
is continuous with that of the Church. Its West wall, both on the
upper level and in the vaults, continues at right angles to the North
wall of the Church from where this is stopped by the vault under the
Prothesis. The wall separating it from the Church (from which
it is entered down two steps), being built on the curve of the vault
underneath, can never have been used to support any great burden,
and we may suppose that the North wall of the Sacristy carried
the main thrust of the Church at this point. A vault of the same
type as those under the Church runs Northward from here, between
walls which continue the line of the East and West walls of the
Sacristy. Towards the North end of the ruins, it was once crossed
by a round arch, possibly supporting a wall on the upper level.
The inner gallery along the East side of the ruin, approached on its
upper level down three steps from the Church, appears not to be as
old as the walls of the Church, its Western wall being an extension of
what was once just a buttress against the North wall of the Church.
The vault on its lower level is not now open, but several blocked
entries are to be seen. Just West of it, a square-headed doorway
pierced the Church wall into the vault under the North Aisle.
Nothing else in the Church block can be proved as old as its
containing walls, and much can be proved later. Several different
restorations must be inferred. The point of first importance, which
is not yet decided, is the date of the vaults : on this depends the
date of the Aisle-mosaics above, which again is proved earlier than
that of the piers dividing nave and aisles, and of the floor of the Nave,
which is arranged to fit in with these piers.
The vaults are of unfaced stones, formerly stuccoed. They are
parabolical in section. They are supported, to North and South, on
walls added to the thickness of the containing walls, are not bonded
THE MONASTERY OF ST. EUTHYMIUS.
195
into the Bast and West containing walls, and in fact show nothing
to prove them contemporary with the original structure. Their
relation to it might be cleared up by opening the door which we have
mentioned as piercing the North wall of the Church into the Northern
vault. Dogmatic statements as to the possible date of this type of
vaulting are perhaps dangerous.
It is at least to be noted that the outline of all three vaults
corresponds rather with the Apses and earlier structure of the Upper
Church than with the later modification. The Mosaics in the N.
and S. Aisles of the upper Church, which have been repaired in
several different ways, especially on their inner edges (where they
would be more trodden on), correspond properly with the position
of the Apses, and show no correspondence in disposition with the
piers, while the Pilasters along the N. and S. walls which correspond
to these piers, actually cut into the pattern of the Mosaics. These
pilasters are also proved later than the walls by remains of fresco
on the walls passing behind them. The disposition of these piers
and pilasters leaves the side-Apses in quite unsymmetrical relation
with their aisles. This can be seen in the plan, where it is also to
be noted that the pilasters marking the line of the piers, between
the Apses, come far closer to the Central Apse than to the side
Apses. A slight lack of symmetry would, however, be not un-
natural here (especially in view of the step up from Prothesis and
Diakonikon to the Altar space), but, quite apart from the definite
proof of later date in the side pilasters, the actual lack of symmetry
is excessive.
Piecing together the fallen masonry, we were forced to the con-
clusion that these square piers had supported a stone-vaulted roof,
with a dome on pendentives over the bay in front of the Sanctuary.
This bay alone is within 7cm. of forming a perfect square, and in
the great stones fallen upon its floor we pieced together what could
only be the springing of two of the pendentives. A few much-worn
remains of columns scattered about the ruins strengthened the
supposition that originally the Church was a plain wooden-roofed
Basilica supported on round columns, with the Nave distinctly
wider, and the Mosaics and Apses of the Aisles in a truer symmetry .
It is to be remembered, however, that if (as we have seen to be
probable) the side-vaults are not as old as the walls of the Church,
even this disposition, in the form of which we find remains, would
196
THE MONASTERY OF ST. EUTHYMIUS.
not go back to 482. Later again, perhaps after the earthquake of
659-60, the Church required rebuilding. But wood was by now too
scarce. On the other hand, the span of the Nave was too great for
a stone vault. Therefore the square piers (with pilasters corres-
ponding to them along the sides of the Church) were built closer in
towards the line of the Central Apse, thus narrowing the span
requiring to be vaulted, widening the aisles and distorting their
symmetry and transforming the Church into a Domed Basilica.
The floor of the Nave was laid in exact correspondence with the
piers of this rebuilding, and is therefore later than the Mosaics of
the Aisles. The space under the Dome is inlaid with a pattern in
various colours of stone and marble. The next bay westwards is
floored with a mosaic pattern in large tesserae, whose general design
only recalls the small-tessera mosaics of the aisles in the six-leaved
pattern at its centre. Now it is important that the mosaic floor
outside the South wall of the Church at its eastern end has a pattern
in large tesserae of just this type (in this case a six-pointed star),
and is supported, as we found in 1930, on a stuccoed vault of un-
faced stones (the vault is parallel to the Church), exactly similar in
type to the Central Vault, and proved to be later than the S.East
Buttress of the Church, against which it is built. Now, are these
two floors of the same age as the vaults which support them ? If
so we must conclude that the Central Vault is of later date than the
Aisle-Vaults. At least at first sight they appear of exactly the
same type as each other. But this type, once discovered, may
well persist unchanged for centuries, so that a difference of date
is not impossible. And on the whole it is more natural to connect
the rebuilding with a collapse in which the central vault was broken
in, while the side vaults and their mosaics more or less escaped
injury, than with a mere repairing of the floor on top of an un-
disturbed vault.
Even before the transformation into a domed basilica, the walls
of the aisles were frescoed. But the frescoes we uncovered on the
pilasters belong to a later age. Their affinities with those on the
columns at Bethlehem (we note especially a warrior with a shield
which reminds us of the Bayeux Tapestry) give us the clue to their
date, and suggest that Manuel Comnenus, who is known to have
restored the Church of St. John Baptist by Jordan after an earth-
quake, may have restored our Church also. It is peculiar to notice
THE MONASTERY OF ST. EUTHYMIUS.
L97
that the edge of the frescoes on pier and pilaster immediately in
front of the Diakonikon indicated that when they were painted,
some kind of partition crossed the South Aisle at this point, in
front of the Chancel Step. The remains of a rough wall, apparently
faced only along its South side, along the line of the N. side of the
piers, rather suggest a retaining wall to hold back a mountain of
debris, and keep the surviving South aisle clear, after the rest of
the Church had collapsed. On one of the piers two stages of fresco
can be traced, one independent of this rough wall, one actually
continued from the pier on to it.
The plan will give a general idea of the arrangement of the
Chancel. One step leads up from the general level of the Church to
that of the Prothesis and Diakonikon, and a further step to that of
the central Altar-space. In both Prothesis and Diakonikon we
find a panel, about six feet square, of small-tessera mosaic : we may
suppose them contemporary with those of the aisles, though the
patterns might be suggestive of older types. In the Prothesis, this
panel is pushed slightly west of the centre to make room for the
three-legged table of the Prothesis, between the stumps of whose legs
is a Cross in small mosaic — in the only position in the floor of the
Church where it would be safe from being trodden on. The Altar-
space, like the Western bay of the Nave, is floored in a sort of red
cement — perhaps this would have been covered with carpets. The
rectangular base of the Altar, with a square cement-filled gap in
the back — clearly for relics — may well be original. We found the
head of one leg of the Altar-table, an alabaster fragment from the
table-edge on which was inscribed [<M] AOCOT>I AC (a very similar
inscribed fragment of Altar-edge was found in the excavation
of the Church of St. Etienne at Jerusalem (see Vincent and Abel,
Jerusalem,' p. 798, pi. LXXIX, 7)), and fragments of a small spiral-
fluted column which probably belonged to the Ciborium. The N.
and S. edges of the Altar-space are out of the main alignment
of the Church, and here probably the original arrangement has been
disturbed. A slot for the Chancel-screen, terminating in square
posts, once ran along the front of the Altar-space, but we found
no such slot in front of the side-apses, nor (where the Jerash ex-
cavations might lead us to expect them) on the step from these to
the Altar-space. Also, the slot where it remained had been filled
up with cement, and the stones containing it had in some cases
19S
THE MONASTERY OF ST. EUTHYMITJS.
been, replaced with plain stones. We found no trace of an Ambon.
Clearly before the end the old marble screen with its ball-headed
posts (of both of which we found considerable remains scattered
about the ruins) had given way to a high wooden Ikonostasis of the
mediaeval type. Before leaving the structure of the Church, we
would call attention to the stone laid against the E. side of the S.W.
pier of the dome. It is of equal width with the pier, so that it
serves to prolong its N. and S. faces Eastwards, and the fresco on
the S. face of the pier is continued on to it without a break. What
kind of structure it once supported, or how high that structure
rose, we do not know. It does not appear to be early. In the debris
at the S.E. corner of the dome, we discovered many fragments of
traceried cement window-frame, containing pieces of glass inserted
before the cement was dry.
In regard to the art of the Mosaics, little can be added to what
has already appeared in these pages, until they are fully published.
Dr. Hankin, in his extremely interesting letter in the Quarterly
Statement for April, 1929, supports us in claiming for them a com-
paratively early date, and in pointing out general affinities with
the Jerash mosaics. These are closest, if I remember rightly, with
the patterns of the Procopius Church, and the differences are just
such as one might expect between city and monastic work — the
one running riot with repetitions and variations, the latter more
meditatively reserving a single unrepeated pattern for each panel.
In this I have to differ slightly from Dr. Hankin — who states that
he is writing from memory. Closer inspection of the patterns
reveals far greater cohesion in design than may at first appear.
K.g. } the irregular octagon which he criticizes (p. 100 (5) ) is the
necessary result of the design — not a mere drawing of octagons
within the squares, but a development from the superposing of a
square lattice (with, spaces alternately wide and narrow) on a
diamond lattice. And the ten-pointed star is not as he draws it
(Fig. 3), simply one pentagram on top of another, but is drawn with
a single line — a development, not a mere reduplication of the idea
of the pentagram.
The originality and cohesion in design of the Euthymius Mosaics
is best brought out by a comparison with some panels preserved in
an exactly similar position in the N. Aisle of the Church (which, like
ours, is supported on undercrofts) of the Monastery of St. Gerasimus
THE MONASTERY OF ST. EUTHYMIUS.
199
in the Jordan Plain. The disposition of these mosaics is so similar,
and their actual designs so unintelligently lacking in cohesion, as to
suggest that they are actually a bad imitation of the Euthymins
Mosaics. Unfortunately I have no photographs or drawings of the
Gerasimus patterns, having only had one hurried and undesigned
sight of them in August, 1928— -and August is not the season for
exploration in the Jordan Plain. As to our own mosaics, we may
admit that the animal designs are extremely crude when compared
with those of Jerash or Beisan. But in a desert monastery we should
expect greater crudity, and it may not prove a later date. For the
rest, it is satisfactory to note that both the centre-piece under the
dome, in which Dr. Hankin sees some possibility of Saracenic
influence, and the pattern in which he points out a singularly crude
use of the compass, are from the Nave, and thus known to be of
later date than the Aisle Mosaics.
The complete plan of the buildings at the W. Front of the Church
— a platform or a Narthex supported on vaults — is not yet clear,
but a general idea can be gained. Opposite the 8. Aisle, a vault
similar to those under the Church ran Westward for one bay, then
was blocked by a wall. Between it and the door into the Central
Vault, a much narrower vault of the same type ran Westward for
two bays, then was blocked by a very solid wall which is continued
Northward to correspond in length and position with the Nave of the
Church. The N. wall of this narrow vault, which appears to be
pierced by two doors, continues the line of the S. side of the doorway
into the Central Vault. North of it ran three bays of vaulting, the
first corresponding to the remainder of the Nave, the second to the
N. Aisle (these two were continued Westward for a second bay), the
third extending North of the line of the Church, clearly to support the
approach to the Tomb-block. The two bays next to the Church
were opened on their Western side, apparently with round arches of
well-faced masonry : and similar fine round arches may have
separated them from each other and from the third bay. These
bays were square in plan : each was cross-vaulted, with the
necessary result that the vaulting (which was unfaced as usual)
was pointed in section above the round arches. The two bays
outside this (the southern blocked on 8. and W. by a wall, the
northern supported on four arches) appear originally to have been
similar, but later the Southern bay appears to have been rebuilt.
200
THE MONASTERY OF ST. EUTHYMIUS.
rather crudely, on a narrower plan. The bay which extends the
inner line Northward is alone preserved nearly complete. It is
blocked by a wall on N., W., and E., and the vaulting (there being
no need for a cross-vault) is of hammer-head plan. The actual
arch with which it opened to the South is unfortunately not
preserved.
The connection of fine round arches with unfaced cross-
vaulting, pointed in section at the sides (arches and vaulting are
definitely contemporary) may be important evidence for the
development of the pointed arch, and of this type of unfaced vaulting.
A precisely similar phenomenon is found in three bays of vaulting
hidden behind the N. wall of the fine barrel-vaulted Crypt of the
Church in the Shepherds’ Fields by Bethlehem— a ruin in which
excavation might reveal many other points for comparison with
our monastery.
The Western end of the court between Church and Cemetery,
separated by a low round arch (subsequently propped up by a wall
at its Northern end) from the rest of the court, contains a cemented
tank in its S. West corner, a sort of basin (in which a broken lamp
of the last age of the Monastery was found) projecting from its
Western wall, and the mouth (laid on top of an older mouth ip,
different orientation) of a cistern which occupies the space under tb y j
court as faT as a bad late broken-down wall which runs out from the
Church towards the S.E. comer of the Tomb-Block. The passage
East of this wall is on a lower level, that of the floor of the vaults
under the Church. (It leads from the door in the wall of the North
vault, through the late vault along the East side of the Tomb-block,
to the Northern approaches to the Tomb). A water-channel used
to lead to this cistern from the N. West, passing through a gap in the
West wall of the court, over which it seems that the stairway passed
down from the platform in front of the Church to the Corridor at
the West front of the Tomb-block.
The Tomb-Block itself consists of ; —
A. — tjie actual Cemetery, a fine barrel-vault running North and
South, its roof level with the floor of the Cistern-Court, from which
it is lit by a slanting window. It is entered, by a square-headed
doorway at the East end of its Northern side, from a staircase
which was roofed over) running down from
THE MONASTEBY OF ST. EUTHYMIUS.
201
B — the Corridor at the West front of the block. This was on
the level of the floor of the Church vaults. At its Southern end a
staircase ran up to the platform in front of the Church. At its
Northern end, a square doorway opened on to a passage leading
from a staircase that runs down from the upper level of the buildings
along the Eastern side of the Monastery. This Corridor had been
cross-vaulted, probably at a late date. A door, out of symmetry
with this vaulting, and with no trace of the steps that must have led
up to it, opened on to the Corridor from
C. — a chamber with a shallow apse at its East end, over the roof
of the Cemetery, and probably not as old as the Cemetery itseLf, but
with walls comparable to those of the Church, and definitely older
than D., a vault with no proper floor, entered through pointed doors
to North and South, which fills the space between the Tomb-block
and the Eastern range of buildings, and is obviously contemporary
with the pointed gateway in the North wall of the ruins.
The Cemetery 1 had clearly been in use over a long period.
As we found it, it had remains of a small Altar against its Eastern
wall, but a fresco on the wall behind the structure of the Altar proved
the latter not to have been original. There were also niches for
“ Prothesis and Diakonikon,” the former at the mouth of a small
round-vaulted tomb, with a ledge for a body on each side of a
passage, the latter over the head of a single grave in the thickness of
the wall. But the masonry showed that these niches also were cut
out of the wall of the vault subsequently to its erection. The floor
of the chamber as we found it was of rough flags. The bottom of the
fragments of fresco at one corner of the wall seemed to pass below
its level, and the extent to which it had been constantly relaid was
further indicated when, turning up a loose flag, we found it to be a
fragment of chancel-screen with its carved side turned down. The
middle of the floor was devStroyed. Opening it up, we found in the
very middle of the Chamber a rough empty grave which seemed
clearly to be that of the Saint himself, its precious contents removed
for safety before the monks abandoned the Monastery. Between
this and the Altar (whose solid cement foundation must surely go
back fairly early), a pit descending to the old earth-level (rather
under a foot lower than the floor of the Saint’s Grave, which was
clearly laid upon it) contained three whole lamp s, an d many fragm ents,
ms. VI, 2, VII, 1.
202
THE MONASTERY OP ST. JEUTHYMIUS.
of types attributable to the sixth century. One of these had
ANACTACIC stamped on its under side. Two other broken
ones had Cross-handles. In this pit also were fragmentary small
bones from something like fifteen different human bodies, ten of them
apparently children. We do not understand this. Were they
relics from some unrecorded massacre ? North of this pit, in a
grave which vve examined without unroofing it, were seven skeletons,
three of them in position, the rest returned in no special order to the
grave after being moved to allow of the new interments. The
condition of the bones appeared to imply that they belonged to the
early ages of the Monastery. The rest of the floor we left undisturbed,
iso doxibt it covers other similar interments. Six rectangular holes,
three on each side, in the roof of the vault, at least in some cases
subsequently filled up, appear once to have been for windows. If so,
this is proof that the upper chamber (C.) is not original.
As we found it, this latter was (apart from its apse) a square
chamber with piers in its corners implying a Cross-vaulted roof. This
makes it fairly evident that the large broken four-faced stone Cross
(with a socket for a metal Cross on top), which we found close by
here, was the coping-stone of this vault — proclaiming in all four
directions that it crowned the edifice immediately above the Saint's
body. As we found it, this chamber had nothing but a plaster
floor. The floor of the apse appeared to have been on a higher level,
but here the fact that a wall appeared at sometime to have been raised
across the front of the apse, obscured the original arrangement.
At some late time, also, the N. East and S. East piers had been
strengthened by square blocks of masonry against their Western
faces. We found a multitude of cubes of wall-mosaic on the floor at
the South side of the Chamber, and, North of the S. West pier, very
nearly enough fragments of fresco (including an inscription) for us
to piece together into an intelligible pattern.
This, I think, covers the main results of our researches up to
the present. If we have failed, so far, to come to many conclusions
as to the dates of the surviving ruins, we have at least confirmed
many details given us in the Life, and we have had a salutary, if
archseologically somewhat disconcerting, reminder, that Greek
monasteries did not lose their vitality with the Arab conquest,
even in matters of building. The completion of the excavation of
our Monastery would be valuable, but owing to the destructive nature
Palestine Exploration Fund ,
Plate II
Palestine Exploration Fanch
Plate 17 .
17c;. 1 .—Broken arch of cistern -ilea ij ln court
BETWEEN CHURCH AND CEMETERY.
FROM THE EAST 1 .
Fig. 2— Arch of late vault,
EAST OF CEMETERY BLOCK
(SHOWING SOUTH-EAST CORNER
OF THE LATTER).
Fig. 3. — West front of cemetery block.
Figl 4. — Ruins at west front of church (viewed from the south-east).
THE MONASTERY OF ST. ETJTHYMIUS.
203
of the Arab, the only really satisfactory solution here would be in
the restoration of the min to its proper use. Meanwhile, perhaps
as much might be learnt towards the clearing up of our problems
from the excavation of other sites whose " floruit ” covered a less
extended period. We should then have better criteria for judgment
when we returned to St. Euthymius.
One detail from the Life is not yet explained — that is the tower
towards the North side of the Coenobium. Possibly it was where
the mediaeval wall now stands. Personally I suspect rather that
excavation would reveal its foundations towards the N.E. corner of
the ruins. But I can feel no certainty here.
I would give a warning against expecting that small finds belong
near where they are found. Three fragments of chancel-screen
which actually fitted together (though we found no other fragments
of the same pattern) were found each in a different year, and each
in a completely different part of the ruins. Again, a fragment of
inscription in marble, found in the debris outside the East wall of
the Church, proved to fit on to two other fragments which had been
plastered over and used as a ledge in a peculiar niche in the mediaeval
vault East of the Tomb-block.
The plan - ing and the main work of the excavation has really
been done by my colleagues — Mr. and Mrs. A. H. M. Jones, Lieut. -
Comdr. Buchanan, Mr. Michael Markoff, and Mr. 0. N. Johns. In
thanking Pere Barrois for his help in the Cemetery and elsewhere, I
should express something of the gratitude I owe to the whole
community of the Ecole Biblique, both for their constant ungrudging
hospitality which other members of the British School have shared,
and for my first grounding in the study of Judaean Monasticism.
R
206
TELL EN-NASBEH.
occupying the whole breadth at the S.E. end, and three long narrow
rooms side by side longitudinally forming the remainder. The
foundations of the old inner wall run right through the middle of
the sanctuary from end to end, and in the middle of this line of stones
is what seems to be the broken base of a pedestal or perhaps a
mazzebah. To the N.E. of this temple is the sacrificial area, with
the usual cup -holes, as noted at Gezer and in many other places,
and remnants of three small stone-built lavers or water tanks,
similar to those employed in mosques, and perhaps serving the same
purpose as the bronze kiyyoroth cast by Hiram for the temple in
Jerusalem, 1 Kings vii, 38 ff.
The cisterns have aroused special interest because of the suggestion
that one of them, which contains pottery fragments of the period
just preceding 586 b.c., and nothing demonstrably later, may be the
very place into which the assassins of Gedaliah and his supporters
threw their bodies, as recorded by the writer of Jer. xli, 7. But the
temple, which seems to have been dedicated to the worship of
Astarte — for terra-cotta models of a dove, a lamp nested in the
three-branched fork of a tree, and a broken torso of the goddess
herself, were unearthed there — is really the most significant find
from the point of view of those interested in Hebrew religion.
It is obviously to be dated 900-700 b.o., between the time of
Behoboam and that of the great prophets.
That the site is actually that of the Biblical Mizpah seems
certain, since the discovery not only of a j ar-handle with the three
letters M Z P, but of the agate seal of Jaazaniah, an officer of King
Zedekiah mentioned in the book of Jeremiah, as reported in the
July number of the Q.S . This Mizpah was, of course, the head-
quarters of the Neo-Babylonian government after the final sack
of Jerusalem. The city was clearly important throughout the
monarchic period. Mr. Garrow Duncan remarks : — “ Examination
of the ground has revealed the fact that the town spread outside
of the walls, and the broad level terraces of the southern and eastern
flanks of the mound had been covered with suburban dwellings
of the Hebrew period, dating from 1100 to 600 and later.” The
site continued in occupation until the Byzantine Empire fell before
the Muhammadans, if we may judge from the presence of Byzantine
coins in the uppermost levels. It was certainly a centre of popula-
tion through the Maccabean and Eoman periods. Hellenistic coins
TELL EN-NASBEH.
207
were found, together with fragments in cisterns and silos belonging
to this era, and Roman antiquities were uncovered “ in considerable
abundance around a tower at the north end of the Tell,” where a
Roman military force seems to have been stationed at one time.
The total area of the city was about eight acres. A part of the
northern wall was traced in 1929, after the excavations of 1926-27
had been filled in again at the end of the latter year. The W. and
E. walls have not been fully investigated as yet. Further find 4
in 1929 included a vaulted passage in one side of the mound, with
fourteen stone steps leading down to a cistern hewn in the rock and
carefully covered with fiat stones. This passage has not been
fully cleaned out, but there can be little doubt that it is a water
tunnel containing the supply used by the townsmen during sieges,
and similar to the elaborate underground water-supplies unearthed
by Prof. Macalister at Gezer and more recently by Mr. Guy at
Megiddo, as described by him at the Orientalists’ Congress in Leyden
in September of last year. The southern gate seems to have been
in the centre of the S. wall, high up in that structure, masked by a
thickening of the wall which projected so as to cover it, and to
have led on to a raised path on a ridge running S.E. past the spring
now called ‘Ain Nasbeh, which would have been the ordinary water-
supply in times of peace.
One of the most interesting features of the Tell en-Nasbeh
excavation, however, was the discovery in 1929 of the city necropolis.
In previous seasons Dr. Bade had searched vainly for this. But
in 1929, ee on the westward slope of a rocky ridge, a few minutes
north of the Tell, I observed one morning, as I was facing the sun,
a crescent-shaped shadow on a patch of exposed bedrock. Thinking
that the depression might prove to be the weathered upper portion
of the entrance facade of a tomb, I took some workmen to the place.
Removal of the soil soon brought to light a shallow forecourt chiselled
out of the limestone, and at its east end a low facade with its small
portal, whose upright door-stone was still in place.” This
tomb proved to be one of several, as at Ras Shamra and else-
where, and they were to some extent models of actual dwellings,
the bodies being placed at full length in niches on raised stone
benches. Each of the tombs was full of mud when found, this having
seeped in year after year through the joints of the doors. When
cleared they yielded a very interesting series of lamps and black
208
TELL EN-NASBEH.
juglets, and also three excellent scarabs, which appear to be imported
and of genuine Egyptian workmanship, though the hieroglyphs are
probably conventional in design and apotropaic in intention, rather
than actual inscriptions designed to convey a meaning. Two of
these tombs are probably of the earlier classical Hebrew period,
1100-900 B.c., but a third, of different pattern and more elaborate
construction, contained a bronze coin of Herod Archelaus, and would,
therefore, seem to be a Graeco-Roman tomb of the 1st century
a.d. This tomb contained also a Roman lamp, a button seal with
a curious design of a long-eared beast halted by a human figure
with upraised arm (Balaam's ass and the angel ? !), a bracelet, and
a number of glass beads. The whole reminds us of the similar
Roman burials recently found by Mr. Fitzgerald at Beth Shan,
where these were again in close contiguity to, and even impinging
on, tombs of a thousand years' earlier date.
The excavations at Tell en-Nasbeh have already added another
complete Biblical city to those of which we had previous knowledge.
The operations were conducted with all the skill which long experi-
ence has taught. Once more we find on a single site the series of
cities from about 2500 b.c. onwards, on which we have come to look
as typical. Again, too, the great periods of the site, when its culture
and activities were at their highest, are the Middle and Late Bronze ,
when Egyptian influence was dominant, and the Iron Ages of
Hebrew occupation, when, although artistic culture was at a lower
level, yet the city was apparently frequently, if not continuously,
populous and flourishing. The pottery series goes to confirm,
supplement, and enrich the collections formed and expounded by
such authorities as Pere Hugues Yincent, Prof. Albright, and
Mr, Duncan, although it is not as complete here as might be desired,
many types being absent. Though we have not the actual remains
of the historical Gedaliah, we have the seal of one of Zedekiah's
officers actually mentioned in the Scriptures.
The identification of the source is practically assured. And
the whole is a complete example of the classical Hebrew city, con-
tinuing a far earlier foundation of a higher culture, and fully furnished,
as at Gezer and Megiddo, with encircling wall, towers, gates, a sub-
terranean water supply, temple or temples, sacrificial area, market
and streets. As the Hebrews themselves believed, and as their
own records show, they inherited, or took possession of, a country
TELL EN-NASBEH.
209
and a civilisation which had already a long history of intensive
culture, extending over more than one, and in some parts perhaps
more nearly two, thousand years, previous to their arrival. To
this fact also the excavations at Tell en-Nasbeh, carried down to
bed-rock by Dr. Bade and his assistants, bear eloquent witness.
210
A DIOSCURI CULT IN SEBUSTIYA.
By M. Narkiss, Jerusalem.
In the Quarterly Statement for January, 1932, two haul-reliefs
in stone were published by Prof. Crowfoot ; these were found
during the Samaria-Sebustiya excavations of 1931 in a temple at
Karam el-Tuteh (p. 23), and belong approximately to the third
century a.d. Each of these stones bears a relief of a tiara, or, more
correctly, of a star-crested f ileus (iri'Xos). Prof. Crowfoot remarks
with justice that they remind us of the upper part of the reverse of
the coins of Herod I (B.M.C., Palestine, p. 220, Nos. 1-10, PL xxiii, 14),
on which, however, the shape is less pointed and more domed, almost
like that of the pileolus or calotte. Here also, as on the stones, the
star rises on a high stem, resembling a crested crown.
But both the two haul-reliefs and the design represented on
A com of Solis (Pompeiopolis).
them seem to belong to a period earlier than that of the Herodian
coins mentioned. At any rate they must be older than the third
century.
Now the f ileus in this shape, with a star on top of it — whether it
be crowned with a wreath or not — is always, beginning with the
Hellenistic period, a symbol of one or the other of the Dioscuri, who
A DIOSCURI CULT IN SEBUSTIYA.
211
usually appear together and are very ancient deities in the Greek cult*
They assist and protect sailors and those who fight at sea. The two
stars are an attributive symbol of the Dioscuri (A idwopoi) as
gods of light. The double pileus appears mostly as a symbol of
both the Dioscuri together, and thus we find these symbols in many
places, in temples, and especially on coins. The town Dioseurias
uses the two pilei as a symbole-parlant , as also do Melos, Colophon,
Thomis, and other towns. On a Roman coin of 268 b.c. the
Dioscuri appear riding on galloping horses ; on their heads we see
pilei with stars. 1 The resemblance is particularly clear between
these two haul-reliefs and a coin of the town Solis (later Pompeiopolis)
from the collection of the <c Bezalel 5J National Museum, a photograph
of which is given here.
, A E. 20 mm. (B.M.C., Lycaonia, etc. (1900) P, QTQ., No. 42,
PI. xxvi, 14).
Obverse : Tyche r., with turreted crown and veil.
Reverse : The two pilei of the Dioscuri, on the back of each of
them a crested star on a pedestal in the form of a parallelogram, and
in it the inscription : SOAEHN. Under the parallelogram an
inscription, AP.
On the coins of Herod I there is another detail which suggests
that the above-mentioned “ helmet ” is connected with the Dioscuri-
cult. In various places the attribute of u gentlemanlike deeds 17
wrought by the Dioscuri in protecting the feeble and those lacking
other patrons (this being their principal beneficent function) is the
palm-leaf, or more exactly the palm branch, instead of the wreath
around the pileus . As this appears here on the haut-relief it
symbolises the protection of Agone. But I am not attempting to
suggest that Herod had any reason to appropriate the emblems of
the Dioscuri or attach them to himself. There are reasons for the
supposition that the cult of the Dioscuri existed in the country at an
earlier period, and the likeness of the representation of the pileus
on the coin of Soli-Pompeiopolis, which was struck between 300 and
80 b.c., to that on the haut-relief s confirms this. It is possible that
the Seleucid emperors had introduced this cult into the Helienised
towns of Palestine, and that when Antioehus IV restored the ruins
1 Vide Schrotter, Wdrterhnch der Miinzl'uvde. p. 144, s.v. Dioscuri; Pauly -
Wissowa, JR. E. t ix, p. 1207, s.v. Dioscuri 12 ; B. Pick in Jahrbuch des Jcais.
deutschen Arch. Inst,, xiii (1898), pp. 152-3, PL x, 13, 14; Die, Munzm Nord-
griech . I, Pl. v, vi ; Th. Mommsen, Rom. Miinzwesem, p. 294.
212
A DIOSCURI CULT IN' SEBUSTIYA.
of old Samaria, lie laid the foundations of a temple built in honour
of the Dioscuri. Those who built the new Samaria-Sebaste had
before their eyes the ruins of the Hellenic Dioscuri temple, which
must certainly have been demolished by the destroyers of the city,
Antigonus and Aristobulus, the sons of John Hyrcanus, after their
conquests in 107 b.c . 2 The rebuilders used our two stones when they
reconstructed the former temple of Samaria (the new Sebaste), and
placed them inside the temple, which then became again a centre of
this cult, ox of one of the similar cults which appeared here at that
time.
In any case the helmet comes to view again, though not in the
p ileus form, on coins of Sebaste from a later period, namely on
coins of Domitian of the years 108 (PH), 109 (Pfe)), 110 (PI),
83/84, 84/85, 85/86 a.d. (B.M.C., p. 79, PL viii, 9). In this shape
(the Macedonian helmet) it appears also on coins of Herod (B.M.C.,
p. 221, No. 11, PL xxiv, 1). On another coin, which also belongs to
the Sebaste mint, and was struck during the reign of Commodus,
an obscure god appears, bearing in his hand palm leaves or branches
(B.M.C., p. 79, No. 8, Pl. viii, 11), described as “ ears of corn ” (sic),
and having a helmet on his head. It is possible that this is one of
the Dioscuri in the form of Pollux or Castor, as they were usually
represented in the Homan environment.
The existence of a cult of the Dioscuri in Palestine is further
witnessed by several colonial coins. In Jerusalem (Aelia Capitolina)
the Dioscuri appear together on the coins of Antoninus Pius.
Between the two figures is an eagle, and there are stars above their
heads (B.M.C., p. 86, Nos. 21-28, PL ix, 6, 7). On the coins of
Askalon also they appear during the reigns of Antoninus Pius and
Faustina Junior (B.M.C., p. 132, Nos. 206, 7 ; p. 135, Nos. 236, 7 ;
Pl. xiv, 2, 7). 3
On the basis of what we know of the forms of the two pilei and
of the symbols which they represent, we can use the two haut-reliefs
as a foundation for the hypothesis that there was a cult of the
Dioscuri in Sebaste. It may be also that an ancient temple here,
rebuilt during the Seleucid period, was dedicated to the Dioscuri
and perhaps even bore their name.
2 Jos. Antiq. xiii, 10, 2 ; Bell. Jud. I, 2, vii.
3 1 regret that the important work of G. F. Hill, Palestinian Cults in the
Greco-Roman Age, was not before me.
213
GOG AND THE DANGER EROM THE NORTH, IN EZEKIEL.
By Prof. John L. Myres, E.B.A., &c.
In tlie writings ascribed to Ezekiel, and dated by their writer
to “ years of our captivity, 55 from the sixth (viii, 1 = 591 b.c.)
to the twenty-fifth (xl, 1 = 572 b.c.) are numerous allusions to
contemporary events, and reflexions on current policies ; profound
disapproval of the reckless policy of Zedekiah in Jerusalem, as
futile as it was dishonourable ; resentment against Canaanite,
Syrian and Egyptian cults, and the general slackness of orthodox
ritual and behaviour ; indignation at economic and social abuses
which may well have been as widespread in the towns and villages
of the Captivity as they were in Jerusalem itself. Bide by side with
these domestic criticisms, there are denunciations of other peoples,
Ammon, Moab and Edom, Philistines and Cherethim, Tyre and
Egypt, which throw valuable light on the difficulties of Zedekiah
and his advisers, and on the contemporary fulminations of their
implacable opponent, Jeremiah.
Quite distinct, however, from all these familiar enemies of the
Jewish kingdom, and more difficult to put into historical perspective,
is what may be described as the “ Danger from the North, 5 } in the
prophecy against “ Gog 55 in chapters xxxviii-ix. Son of Man,
set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief Prince of
Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him 55 (xxxviii, 2 A.V. 1 ).
It is a confederacy, or emjnre, of many peoples, “ horses and horse-
men, all of them clothed with all sorts, a great company witli
bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords (4) . . : all of
them with shield and helmet (5) . . . all of them riding upon
horses 55 (15). It is a great raid, for plunder, to take a spoil and
to take a prey 55 ; it will terrify distant Arabia and the “ merchants
of Tarshish 55 (12). It comes “ out of the north parts 55 (15), and
also from the west, for ec I will send a fire upon Magog and among
them that dwell carelessly in the isles 55 alongside and beyond
Asia Minor. But this invasion will come to a sudden disastrous end
u upon the mountains of Israel 55 (xxxix, 2) in the u valley of th e
1 Unless otherwise indicated the translations are from the A.V,
214 GOG AND THE DANGER EROM THE NORTH, IN EZEKIEL.
passengers on the east of the sea 55 ( v . 11), and there are graphic
details of the country-side littered with spears and corpses, and
of seven months scavenging by a whole-time burial corps, “ men of
continual employment 55 (xxxix, 14). As it is not till after this
horror that Israel shall be “ gathered out of their enemies 5 lands, 55
the “ Danger from the North 55 is figured asfalling within the period
of Babylonian captivity.
Is it possible to identify this occurrence, or at all events a
moment of panic and apprehension which made such prognostication
thinkable ? Ancient writers, profane as well as biblical, had no
scruples in appropriating the literary phrases of their predecessors
to their own occasions. We are free therefore to distinguish between
the crisis with its causes, and the prophet's anticipation of its
effects.
The Prophet's Imagery , and, its Sources . — From the middle of
the seventh century, almost to its close, there has been recurrent
“ Danger from the North, 5 ’ through Scythian and Cimmerian raids,
which had reached the Philistine lowland, and probably harried
Judah also. Herodotus has a story (i, 103-6) of a similar raid,
ended by massacre, after the Scythians had “ captured Nineveh 55
and 4 4 ruled Asia twenty-eight years 55 ; and some of these Scythians,
in retreat from the Egyptian border, left their mark on Ascalon,
and its goddess her mark on themselves. Compare with this,
Jeremiah i, 13-14, in the thirteenth year of Josiah, 626 b.c. : — 44 1
see a seething pot, and its face is towards the north . . . Out of
the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of this
land . . . and they shall come and they shall set everyone his
throne at the entering of the gate of Jerusalem. 55 It is also in
Josiah’s reign, that Zephaniah declares (ii, 4) that “ Gaza shall be
forsaken and Ashkelon a desolation ... Woe to the inhabitants
of the sea-coast, the nation of the Cherethim 55 ; and it was this
devastation of Philistia that was to enable Judah thereafter to
occupy the low country ; 44 in the houses of Ashkelon shall they
lie down in the* evening, 55 with the disastrous result of fresh feud
and reprisal in the time of Necho and Hophra, a generation later
(Ezek. xxv, 15, 16 ; Jer. xxv, 19-26). Probably in Josiah's reign,
too, comes more trouble, in Jeremiah vi, 22-23 ; 4 4 evil appeareth
out of the north, and great destruction (vi) . . . they shall lay
hold on bow and spear . . . and they ride upon horses, set in array
GOG AND THE DANGER FROM THE NORTH, IN EZEKIEL, 215
as men of war.” Another such raid from the north is in viii, 16 :
when “ the snorting of his horses was heard from Dan.” But these
earlier raids are anonymous, “ all the families of the kingdoms of
the north ” : only the reference to Ashkelon (Zeph. ii, 4) permits
probable identification with the Scythians of Herodotus (i, 106).
Ezekiel 3 s use of this earlier imagery. — But Ezekiel uses this earlier
imagery for a quite different occasion. Under “ Gog of the land
of Gog ” ( mat-Gog in Assyrian) are leagued many known peoples,
not all of them dwellers in the north : —
(a) Older peoples of Asia Minor, belonging to the Midas regime,
•or earlier ; Meshech, Tubal, “ and their king Eos ” (lxx) represent-
ing the Muski and Tabal of Assyrian conquests, the
Mosoch (Mosocheni) of lxx and Josephus, the Moschoi Mazaca and
Tibareni of Greek geography, and perhaps Rusas, the name of
three kings of Urartu around Lake Van. So too in Genesis x, 2.
Magog is a son of Japhet, and stands between Gomer and Madai-
Javan-Tubal-Mesehech-Tiras. Closer to the Midas regime stands
Togarmah (Thorgama, LXX : Thrugramma, Josephus) with its
echoes of Greek Phryges and Pergama , though it is affiliated here to
Gomer, and related to Ashkenaz.
(b) Gomer, as usual, stands for the Gimmiri of Assyrian records,
and the Greek Kimmerioi , trans-Caucasian raiders of the years
from 680 to 630 n.c. ; Ashkenaz, for Greek Skythai , a quite distinct
people, but involved like the Kimmerioi in this whole series of
movements ; the Madai of Genesis x, 2 are the Assyrian Mavida
raiders, and have left their name in Matiene and probably in Media.
(c) But who, or what, is Gog ? The Assyrian Gagu of S&hi,
who has been suggested, was no great chief ; the Gagaya “ barbar-
ians ” of the Tell-el-Amarna period are eight centuries earlier.
But Gyges of Lydia, the Gugu of Lidi whose name first reached
Assyria about 670 was the founder of the only regime in Asia Minor
that had withstood the Kimmerian invasion, and now under his
great-grandson Alyattes, had become the paramount power in the
peninsula, and had been fighting on equal terms with Media from
581 to 575 b.c.
{d) If Gog be the Lydian empire, thus popularly identified with
the* name of its creator, the rest of the “ peoples of the north ” fall
into place in the picture. There were certainly Scythian free-
216 GOG AND THE DANGER FROM THE NORTH, IN EZEKIEL.
companies in tie Lydian service (Hdt. i, 73-4), probably also
Kininerian. “ They that dwell carelessly in the isles 55 will be the
Greek mercenaries from Ionia and Caria, who were to render such
signal service to Alyattes at the “ Battle of the Eclipse 55 (see below).
“ Ethiopia and Libya ( Phut as in xxvii, 10) . . . all of them with
shield and helmet 55 are those oversea troops with armour like the
Carian (Hdt. 1, 171), which Egypt could send to Alyattes, and
afterwards to Croesus, just as Gyges had sent his own men to help
Psammetiehus of Egypt against Assurbanipal. The fact that, as
we shall see, Egypt was being attacked on its own land-front by
Nebuchadnezzar during the Six Years 5 War, was no obstacle to this
employment of strategical reserves by an ally oversea.
(e) Only one of the confederates of Gog offers difficulty ; — what
is the Persia that is associated with Ethiopia and Libya in xxxviii, 5,
as with Lydia and Libya ( Lud and Phut) among the mercenaries of
Tyre (xxvii, 10) ? If the whole passage were of later date, and the
“ Danger from the North 55 were the coming of Cyrus and his Persians,
surely Persia would furnish the “ chief prince 55 ; Gog (meaning
Lydia) would be an enemy, not an ally ; and there could hardly
fail to be mention of the Medes. The alternative is to suppose, first,
that before the days of Cyrus, and, indeed, at any time after the
collapse of the old Elamite regime about 640 b.c., Persian high-
landers wandered abroad in free companies, to serve rich employers
like Lydia and Tyre ; second , that on this particular occasion there
was a real apprehension that Persians, like Ethiopians and Libyans,
would be among the confederates of Gog, whether or not that peril
actually happened.
The Historical Occasion of the Danger from the North . — To appre-
ciate what the danger was, and discover its occasion, we have to
review the course of events in the Nearer East since the Fall of
Nineveh in 612 b.c. What had shattered Assyrian rule was a
coalition of the new Babylon of Nabopolassar with the Medes under
Kyaxares ; and the victors divided the spoil. To Babylon fell
naturally the south-western half, lowland, Semitic or se mi tized,
and long accustomed to look to Babylon itself for most aspects of
higher culture. To the Medes fell, as naturally, the north-eastern
highlands, more or less superficially Aryanized as far as Persia to the
south-east, and passing westwards from Iranian into Armenian and
Goa AND THE DANGER FROM THE NORTH, IN EZEKIEL. 217
eventually Phrygian dominance in Asia Minor. Each of the “ Great •
Two ” had thus scope for further adventures ; Babylon across !
Euphrates, m Syria and Palestine, with Egypt beyond, resentful
and mischievous, a “ bruised reed ” to its friends and dupes ; while
Media had the western highlands to domesticate as it eould, with no
admitted or even possible frontier, and a fair prize in the Cappadocian
plateau beyond. But here, too, there was a “ thorn in the flesh 55 ;
for, beyond the Halys river, Lydia had built up its own regime of the
west, and set covetous eyes on Cappadocia. Bo long as all went well
between the ££ Great Two/ 55 their respective victims and enemies
could do little but make common cause with each other ; hence
the frequent coupling of Egypt or its dependencies with Lydia in
political utterances p. 216). And for the moment all was well.
Nabopolassar’s brilliant son Nebuchadrezzar married Kyaxares 5
daughter ; he took, however, also the precaution to make the
cc Median Wall 55 impregnable, from Euphrates to Tigris, in case of
family jars.
By 590 b.c. Media had the Lydian wolf by the ears, and Egypt
used its opportunity to make trouble for Babylon. But Nebuchad-
rezzar struck back hard, besieging Tyre (Ezek. xxix, 18) for thirteen
years to cover his operations further south, defeating the Egyptian
field army (Ezek. xxx, 20), and capturing Jerusalem in 586. Both
Ezekiel (xxx, 10 jf) and Jeremiah (xliii, 10-13) indeed were confident
that he would set up his throne in Egypt itself.
Then something unexpected and disturbing happened. After
six years of ££ even warfare/ 5 the ££ Battle of the Eclipse/ 5 astronomi-
cally dated to 28th May, 585, ended the struggle between Lydians
and Medes. Herodotus, to whom (i, 74) we owe the story, only says
that they ££ ceased fighting and hastened rather both to make peace/'
He adds, however, that £fi those who brought them into agreement 55
were the Kings of Cilicia and Babylon. But if reconciliation was
spontaneous, intervention was needless. And as he says that the
Lydians — or rather the Ionians — were warned of the eclipse by
Tbales, the Milesian astronomer — so presumably the Medes were not
— it may be that the reason why Cilicia and Babylon intervened was
that the Lydian army took advantage of a Median panic to inflict a
crushing defeat, so that the whole political regime was in peril.
In that event, Babylon had every reason to come to the rescue of
218 GOG AND THE DANGER FROM THE NORTH, IN EZEKIEL.
its Median ally ; while Cilicia, which had preserved its independence
so long as there was balance of power between Media and Lydia,
had everything to fear if the scale turned in favour of either, and
especially if Lydia won ; for geographically Cilicia was within the
Halys 53 (Hdt. 1, 28), and the e< Battle of the Eclipse 53 is now known,
from the astronomical evidence for totality, to have been fought
on the southern, not the northern, route.
Here then was a moment of suspense, almost of panic. It was
Babylon now, who had the wolf by the ears. Tyre was besieged,
but untaken ; Jerusalem was captured, but a resentful remnant
made trouble for Gedaliah ( Jer. xli, 1) ; the Babylonian field army
was presumably operating against Egypt further south. Even
Jeremiah, usually friendly to Babylon, spoke out : — “ For out
of the north there cometh a nation against her, which shall make
her land desolate and none shall dwell therein (i, 3) ... an
assembly of great nations from the north country (v. 9) . . . . ,
put yourselves in array against Babylon round about, all ye that
bend the bow, shoot at her, spare no arrows (v. 14) . . . call
together the archers against Babylon ; ' all ye that bend the bow
camp against it round about 3J , with more explicit detail (vv. 41-42)
almost verbally from the repertory already mentioned.
Even more graphic is the description in chapter li : — cc Call
together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni and Ashchenaz,
appoint a captain against hey 1 ; cause the horses to come up as the
rough caterpillars. Prepare against her the nations, with the kings
of the Medes. . . . 33 (27, 28). Both the bowmen and the horse-
men are charactistic of the Northern Peril. And then follows the
cliche about the vast size of the threatened city : — c< One post shall
run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew
the King of Babylon that his city is taken at one end 33 (li, 31.
Compare Hdt. 1, 191, of the later capture by Cyrus.).
But it is in Ezekiel's chapters about Gog (xxxviii-ix) that we have
the fullest picture of the “ Danger from the North, 33 as it loomed
up “ by the waters of Babylon 33 itself, with vivid reference to
Scythian, Kimmerian, Libyan, and even Persian auxiliaries. For
1 Cf. “ their captain ROs,” Ezek. xxxvii, 2, 3, xxxix, 1, LXX ; “ the chief
prince,” A.V.
GOG AND THE DANGER FROM THE NORTH, IN EZEKIEL, 219
•as tlie news spreads of a capital defeat, border provinces revolt, the
victor advances through friendly 99 territory, local contingents
join him, and allies come in. Only the firm stand of Cilicia across
the road into Syria saved the situation, and won time for the King
of Babylon to intervene. That the “ Danger from the North ”
was never more than a danger, — that Cilicia and Babylon imposed
on Lydia and Media the status quo ante helium , and that the Great Two
became the fourfold League of Despots, which it was the mission of
Cyrus to overthrow, does not diminish the historical value of this
vivid glimpse of ancient history.
NOTE ON THE MAP OE THE PRINCIPAL EXCAVATED'
SITES OP PALESTINE, COMPILED BY THE PALESTINE
EXPLORATION FUND.
In any field, of activity it is desirable, from time to time, to take-
stock of what has been actually accomplished, with a view, partly to
realize fully what results have been attained, and partly to make-
suitable preparations for the future. This kind of review is especially
necessary in the case of the archaeological exploration of Palestine
on account of the considerable number of countries and institutions
which have taken part in the work, during a long period of years.
The Executive Committee of the Fund, therefore, directed the ^
preparation of the accompanying map, which has been drawn in
the office of the Fund and has been reproduced by the Ordnance
Survey. It has been reproduced on two scales ; the smaller to *
accompany the Quarterly Statement , and the larger to serve as a
reference and wall map. These two versions are exactly similar,
but for the scales.
It is hoped that the map will also be found useful for study in
connection with the “ Concise Bibliography of Excavations in
Palestine/’ recently compiled by the Palestine Department of
Antiquities and published in the Quarterly of 4he Department of
Antiquities in Palestine , Vol. I, Nos. 2-4, to which work we are much
indebted.
The map does not show many casual and accidental discoveries-
and work of a superficial nature, but is confined, in the main, to
marking the sites of organised scientific researches. A few additional
place-names are inserted as landmarks.
The next undertaking of this nature will be, as suggested by
the Bishop of Rochester, the provision of a map to show the un-
excavated tells and historical sites. This is a more formidable task
and will take some time. But the Executive Committee have every
intention of publishing .eh a map eventually.
22 September, 1932.
C. F. Close.
DAMASCUS
INE
MAP OFTHE
PRINCIPAL EXCAVATED SITES
COMPILED BY THE
PALESTINE EXPLORATION FUND
1932 .
Scale of* Milos
ji if £ s°
Scale of Kilometres
1.0 1 j 5 zp * SfS 30 35 4
JERUSALEM
Exana turns by
M de V&f&E, W5b, 1862
mss 60
Foe Sauicy 1863
C W W,i % go W&4
p b , ms 3 m. mm * mao
PEE, 186/ 70,1873-74,1894 97,192328
C Stint h itetttms excar&tt&ns between
1372 d im reported te Pt P)
TA IBM. 1867 82, 739/
Sir H MawhUiy, 7374
L P 3e/we 7377
q pv met
£87 (O Fj 788! 34, /S/P, /S/8
rpf f mm, tmt m
6 p mm, msp, mss, mm 7
A F 788$ /S/e
f f mm, 1901 3, 7909 2G
ap mss, mae
a so# m/e, /sod
C&pts. 7906
Pt . 7903 //,
Ssron t de. Rothsrh>id. /S/3 M, 7923 24.
J PF 5 A OH U 192 J -27
PDA . 7323, 7926, 0*30
ABBREVIATIONS.
A F Fatbits
A P Mm? wan Pair tw th&te
A SO R Runr f(«n Sthnnlnf Oriental ftrueau 6
A 5 # PS a» Si herd td fhrh,*-.tw >i Studm*,
ft f &| irdhctme fathei &
8 P { P,‘. m sr f\,nttfu *tt fust. tut#
B 5 A J A d*;Ji Br hi*'* .# At r hetefS&gy >A . *e> turalem.
Bh B A it'.iihh Sthih 'J of Egyptian Archaeology
C ATS tipdtxhj Bella Ten a Santa
0 0 6 O^utst he Orient - (teBetfhth&ft
OP/ /Hrjsh Palestine Expedition
D P V, 04ut$chet Pale sima ■ Wrpin
EBB tl) Bp ft ok Bihhqae Fi emmse t Dominican Bather a )
B P Fivtri&can Fathers-
B A / man ArcBaeobpt.a} Institute
Q 6 (at ten -Ceneffschaft
6 P Bftek Pott i at thore
PC. BmetlwB College
MB If Hebrew Mat. omit f/itiret ’.Ay
H (J Ha* vm 0 Uni versify
1 PHP Put Hot &> ftMeentotogie Hum& me de Pans
J PC S Jewish fisJentme ixpfemrtfeo Srs te*y
1 P 1*4 m Pat rise chafe
A* .¥ A Mifr&pmitan Museum of Art
M M £ M*ir--ifin - Mekhett Expedite**'
0 7 If C 0e.enf.a7 Institute, ifm*** 9*ty ># Chnsgo
f'B to. /9res BUttm.
P 0 A P&te’rt me ik&artme&t m Anttqid ms
Ft /*»-* ket txperf’tmr
Pt 7 Pa*estim l tan fund
HSR Pm, ifn S&b&af&f Rehgntm
PT SC Prtehttenen thetdvgn at Semmay, l hitago
PuM Pecnsprama iivtvmt A*ff Masetun . .§3"
fipf $ Pansmn Pahs* * .** txpkn .V# -rtf
TA Juikish Authanties
V A S At ademy 0 F 5c *e»c*
V 6 ¥:4 Bcrsm&ti scbevf#* * tu he be%eH& haft
V hi t Ministry f>* Bdmatnm
V U ¥«& Umm* 9tty
a a m : n mm
MNR. kfsreo Rfaz r««/« Romano
£x”* ATHL1T
by P.D. A., 7930.
WADY EL - MU6HARA:- '
MUGHARET EL-WAD Ex”hyP,
„ ES-SUKHUt , B
„ ETTABON
TANTU
Btcav f *«h> DORf
8S.AJ., 1923.
at
C/F-SAREA
MOlhTf CARMEL
4»ccav*t/i^s byPpjkt922.
tELLtL-AI
Exyty&SAJ
C l^TELL AR B>
\£* - byB.SA%ym&
AMhV
b>
#UMMEL-AMED
£x**tyf>£.BJ 866 . NAZARETH
KlisEMIHAKA VjITEUEL-KUSSife r^rTiS^
Of- by 9 U US, IXi^y SSAJ ’ C d TS - ,%% B
1928 a B&A.J. a A b PSJ928 ik .
S. 7931.
7331
fcMUGHAtaET EL KEBARA
Exf* by B SAJ.d 4 $ PS 1937.
TELL £L-MUTESELL1M
• MEG1B.D0
Excavations iby O.P.V & 8 . 0 . G., ! 903 ~ 0 S
„ S 0, 1,0. C since iB2S.
TELLTAANNEK
£jKC,iv^>ons By V.A.Sd VMS,, W02 Q4-.
BETH ALPHAS
Sxuiiv^fiyHff./r
V
~-»j3E15A-N
^BETtTjiSHAN
•Excavabqnis by P. U. M.
/p?l-S3$J9ZS -31.
Vr~
X
SEBASTIYA^
SAMARIA^
hxcnvaUons by H U . 7908-70.
and H U.,PEF,B SA.J.& H. N.U 1930-
BALATA
J
JERASH
'Excavations by\)
1928-30 and]]
f,-% f B.f.fxkhii »SH ECH EM
Excavations by V A S.
V G 1926 27 A G A A
MOUNT GERI2IM
Bx" s by GAB, 1927-28
J
V
y
'Q
V-
f*K
JAFF/s
C
SEILliN
• SHILOH
Ext&vxhonsbyQ PE,, 1322, 26 4 29.
X-
• SHUKBAH
Excavations by Pete A Walton
1924, and B S.A . J. 1928.
*\
TELLJAZARi
GEZER*
i\ CSV ? l br PI B 1902-05
and ISO? - OS.
^BElTiN
•bethel
Bxcav ns byA 8.001927,
aTELL EN-NASBEH
tx‘ 5 by P.S.R 1326 21
' ton ^ 'in
AINDUK
^EM^byBBB.tAlS;
• TELL ES
•JER1
i
[•SUL'S
HC
^ TfLLtS-SAFt A
Pt / //PBi W
MWAS £.*i,a”*fo
J H >876 4
B B 7 -V724 ABU GHOSH
j cxiuvg^byWteteliteimmi
\ i t hsus- Slaveries mb
\ ; JERUSALEM#
AIN SU£MS_ J ^—^xJSeeSpenalRekrvncelistJ
BETH SHEIWESH^T ^
Exvavabms by P £ F 191/ A 72
y H. C.7928
•jlkkM KAR1YA
f mm 93
!
1 M. M t. 1930
TELL EL FULL
QExnfrfi F
S Oft. HAN EL _ AHMAR j
^(S r EUTHYMIUS;
E*<.av"* by BS A. J., 1928-30.
oBETHLEHEW
^^BEIT SAHUR
TEL EILAT GHASSUL
•£*c*v" s by B Pi. 1929 -
MIW
E>cat n .? by M.N R .
J92.7JL929-3Q\
X/xJ eiLtLpinar
^^«fL0N^L4CHlSH m
Bmcsv »* bv PE f,
TELL EJLJUQEldEH
+Ex,cav»* by Pff 1899 - 1900
E***byPE F.mO I
•Ff^?r ?5§/? APTS C,
. RAMET EL MHALIL
9Bx«* by 6 6 1926 28
oHEBRON
•mi be n ismsiM
W £* ^ by AS OR smit 192$
tlfl tL EAKA
$ETH FELET
. Bef.R-SHI BA
\ f
r
x
v.
S
^x>"
""X
X
-HESHBON
map disccv ? 189b
mt pg
"" Stela (Moabite Stone) diicoWt/iBS.
X
X
221
“ THE ARCHEOLOGY OF PALESTINE AND THE BIBLE.” 1
By Processor John Garstang, M.A., D.Sc., Hon. Ll.D.
Professor Albright, the author of this instructive book, was for a
full eight years Director of the American Schools of Oriental Research
in Jerusalem. When he took charge of that Institution he found it
modestly equipped and with a corresponding limitation in its
functions ; when he left, it had become one of the most efficient
organisations in the country, with a splendid hostel and laboratories*
and contributing regularly, by research and publications, to enrich
our knowledge of the archeology and topography of the land.
The material progress was the result of generous endowments, but
the distinguished position attained among friendly rivals was largely
the result of Dr. Albright's own clear sightedness, unflagging energy
and sound scholarship. Those who were in contact with him at this
time, indeed all who have followed the course of his life's work,
which has found expression hitherto in numerous learned papers
scattered through too many periodicals, have looked forward to the
day when in the comparative leisure of the Chair at Baltimore
which has fittingly rewarded his earlier years, he would give to the
world a connected and studied opinion on the various problems of
Biblical archaeology which have come within his purview.
The present volume, though but a preface, we hope, to greater
works, does not belie these expectations. It is in fact the written
record of three lectures (The Richards Lectures delivered at the
University of Virginia in 1931) ; and it marks a stage in the author's
studies, wherein he sums up the situation on many of the bigger
problems of Biblical archaeology and criticism, and brings his
own thoughts and conclusions up to date. It is a welcome contribu-
tion from one whose opinion is entitled to respect ; and though in
numerous details it cannot claim finality, notwithstanding the
author’s downright method of expression, it marks a notable advance
in the handling of Biblical questions, and will probably cause
1 The Archaeology of Palestine and the Bible : The Richards Lectures delivered
at tfo: University of Virginia. By William Fox well Albright, pp. 233. Revell
(.'ompfi-ny, Nf-w York, 1932. Price, $2.00.
222 THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF PALESTINE AND THE BIBLE.
sceptics 2 to scratch their heads in bewilderment. No one without
prejudice could follow the archaeological details and the scholar’s
arguments in this book without recognising the historical basis of
Biblical tradition. The author goes further in his conclusion
(p. 176) : attributing the erroneous results of Wellhausen and his
school to the incompleteness of their logical premises, he states
frankly his opinion that “ Conservative scholars are entirely justified
in their vigorous denunciation of all efforts to prove the fraudulent
invention and deliberate forgery of the Bible.”
The book is divided into three chapters, with substantial notes
grouped together as an Appendix at the end (pp. 178-226). In the
first chapter the author discusses the “ Discovery of Ancient
Palestine,” in particular, the uncovering of its ancient sites. In the
second he describes his own excavations on the site of Kiriath-
Sepher, Tell Beit Mersim, and makes an effort to interpret the various
phases of occupation and destruction in the light of historical events.
In the third, the most important chapter, he gives us a glimpse of
that for which we have all been waiting, his views on the Bible in
the light of Archaeology.
The first chapter provides an admirable and succinct summary
of the progress of exploration in Palestine. The author has adopted
a readable style, which, though concise and full of facts, carries the
reader forward with increasing interest. His statements are straight-
forward, his criticisms unsparing, his praise unstinted, and his
allusions often personal, but through all there is the true ring of
sincerity and consciousness of knowledge which keeps the reader in
sympathy with the author’s method.
“ Recent progress ” includes the great gift by that world-
benefactor, Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., of two million dollars for
the establishment and endowment of a Palestine Museum of
Archaeology in Jerusalem. Among the chief features of e£ the
first phase of Scientific Exploration ” the researches of Edward
Robinson receive a special tribute, while due recognition is paid to the
2 In using the word Sceptic the writer would add that in his view all
scholars should be sceptics in a sense, and he personally can see no objection
to the use of this word by Dr. Cook when reviewing the Foundations of Bible
History , on pp. 88-96 of this Journal, where clearly it refers to scientific caution
and not at all to Religion. Scholarly scepticism is much more likely to disclose
the truth than blind conservatism ; it is only when scepticism defies logic and
common sense that it may obscure the issue.
THE ARCHEOLOGY OP PALESTINE AND THE BIBLE.
223
work of Robertson Smith, to Clermont-Ganneau, and to the officers
of the P. E. E. who carried out the Survey of Western Palestine.
In the last connexion he reminds ns that it was only as the work
proceeded that the full significance of the ancient Tells became
apparent ; and indeed that pioneer survey ought now to be followed
up with an archaeological supplement if it is to retain its value.
This section concludes by showing how helpless were the earlier
excavators, owing to lack of knowledge as to the ceramic and
architectural styles.
The second phase of scientific exploration dates, according to
the author, from 1890, £c a fateful date in the history of our subject, 55
for it was then that W. M. Flinders Petrie, who had already begun to
lay stress on the chronological value of pottery, hitherto neglected
by archaeologists, undertook a six weeks 5 sounding in the mound of
Tell el~Hesi. Then came Bliss, and next Macalister, whose valuable
contributions are duly examined and appraised. Hitherto excava-
tions had been confined to Jerusalem and Judaea, but under Sellin
and Schumacher they were extended to a wider field, to the great
sites of Taanach and Megiddo in the plain of Esdraelon, and later, in
collaboration with Watzinger, to Jericho in the Jordan valley.
The author examines the methods and results of one and all, and
shows in the light of modern experience where they failed. It was
chiefly adhesion to the old trench system that proved the stumbling
block to reliable stratigraphy and hence to chronological conclusions.
On this point the writer of these lines, after a life devoted to excava-
tion and the study of method, would like to add a word of comment.
It is hardly possible for an excavator in practice to determine the
limits to his stratifications when working solely from the top ; he
is in fact working in the dark. An exploration trench, or a series of
trenches, neat and narrow, cut through in lines suggested by
experience and the nature of a site, guided by just principles as to
the growth and nature of ruins, though in itself likely to do some
damage, will in nine cases out of ten save the excavator from mistakes
and waste, if not from damage on a larger scale. The practical rules
which emerge from the writer’s own experience are simply these : — *
(a) Examine by sections. ( b ) Excavate by layers.
When the sections have been cut and carefully examined, the
excavator can proceed to remove and record the successive layers.
224
THE ABCHjEOLOGY OF PALESTINE AND THE BIBLE.
which they will have disclosed, with much less risk of damage and
confusion than by groping downwards through the unknown to the
unsuspected.
With the entry of George A. Reisner into the field of Palestinian
investigation, seconded by G. S. Fisher, excavation assumed a new
phase. Dr. Reisner is a master of method, and Dr. Fisher has
developed a genius in the same direction. Samaria was the scene of
their excavation ; the results have been published in full. A complex
of ruins contained remains of successive palace constructions of
Omri and Ahab, and of the latter some seventy ostraca. Not only
was a firm contact established between archaeological results and
Bible history, but new light was thrown directly upon the language
and religion of the northern kingdom, on its topography, and
especially on its provincial and fiscal organisation. The P. E. F.
and the British School are collaborating, as all know, in the further
excavation of the site. This section ends with an account of the
ill-fated but not altogether useless expedition of Captain Parker,
and a short but incisive criticism of an attempt made by Handcock
in 1916 to correlate and synthesize the data collected since 1890.
The dates given by Selim and Watzinger for Jericho, by Bliss and
Macalister for the mounds of the Shephelah, by Macalister for
Gezer, and by Mackenzie for Betkshemesh, did not, in fact, agree at
all ; and “ the attempt to base a synthesis on their chronology
resulted, of course, in chaos.”
The section on Excavations since the War (pp. 36-62) tells how
with the encouragement of the new government, the errors of the past
were overcome by a greater insistence on scientific method, and
perhaps more than all by the spirit of co-operation which animated
this new era. In this great work the collaboration of the long-
founded fC Ecole Biblique de St. Etienne,” under its revered head the
T. R, P£re Lagrange and a <c galaxy of distinguished scholars/ 5 with
the American and British Schools, and other organisations, and the
presence of such men as Phe Vincent and 0. S. Fisher 55 are
mentioned by the author as ensuring continuity of method and of
knowledge. He says nothing of his own share in this common
effort ; but to that the writer of these lines, who was in almost daily
contact with him and others throughout these momentous years,
bears witness with gratitude and appreciation. No individual lias
THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF PALESTINE AND THE BIBLE.
225
done more to advance the cause of Biblical and archaeological
research in Palestine in relatively so short a time than Dr. Albright
himself , whether as Student, Scholar, Director, Colleague or Friend.
The progress of research in this post-war period, surpassing all
possible expectations, is fresh in memory. The results obtained by
Fisher, Rowe, and FitzGerald, at Beisan ; by Fisher at first, and
then Guy at Megiddo ; by the American School at Tell-el-Ful ; by
Bade at Tell el-Nasbeh ; by Grant at ‘Ain Shems ; by the P. E. F. at
Ascalon, and on the site of Ophel, and by Petrie on the site of Gerar
and elsewhere in the extreme south, are all passed instructively in
review, and the more important conclusions checked, or emphasised.
An account of the Danish and German exploration of the important
Biblical sites of Shiloh and Shechem, followed by the opening up of
the new field of Prehistoric Palestine under the initiation of the
British School, brings this impartial record to an end.
The second chapter, “ Unearthing a Biblical City,” while
equally instructive, will appeal more to the specialist. None the
less, the description of the site, the details, incidents and difficulties
of beginning and conducting an excavation are of general interest.
The site chosen, as already mentioned, was that of Tell Beit Mersim,
convincingly identified by Dr. Albright, and his colleague Dr. Kyle,
with Kiriath Sepher. The writer has dealt in detail with this
work elsewhere. Briefly it may be said that a complete, though
small walled city soon came to light, with its ramparts, gates and
internal houses. Its history, full of chequered incident, is traced
back to the Early Bronze Age, before 2000 b.c., through a series of
stratified remains, of which no fewer than six (labelled I to D)
pertain to the Middle Bronze Age (2000-1500 b.c.), the great
period of Canaanitish activity and prosperity. The Hyksos domina-
tion, which, at Jericho, marked the zenith of the city’s fortunes,
seems to have produced at Kiriath Sepher (which faces the coastal
plain) a rather different result, though the fortifications and culture
products were comparable. Dr. Albright dates the destruction of
this city (D) to the middle of 16th century b.c., on the strength of
analogies from Beisan. In this connexion, though the date may be
right, it should be observed that the pottery from Beisan is also
dated by inference from town levels, and probably the last word
has not yet been said upon the subject. Tomb groups, especially the
226 THE ABCHiEOLOGY OE PALESTINE AND THE BIBLE.
smaller groups, provide more reliable criteria ; and in this respect
the uniquely fruitful tombs of Jericho will help to fix our archaeo-
logical boundaries more firmly. Possibly the actual dates to be
assigned to different culture types varied in different areas of the
country, in proportion to the accessibility of the sites, their proximity
to trade routes, and other factors. Certainly the types comparable
with those of city D persist at Jericho until the time of Thutmose III,
and Dr. Albright recognizes this to have been the
case at Beisan. Consequently, though we respect Dr.
Albright’s opinion, that the destruction of city D, and the great
conflagration with which it was accompanied, together with the
traces of a bitter struggle, are to be connected with the Egyptian
conquest of Palestine after the expulsion of the Hyksos, we hesitate
to accept so near an approximation or so early a date as c. 1560-
1550 B.c. We must await the publication and comparison of the
material evidence, from this site, from Jericho, and from Beisan, before
attempting to arrive at a definite conclusion ; indeed, Dr. Albright
himself, although drawn towards that date, recognises that it is
not definite, though probably falling within the sixteenth century
b.c. Our first impression is that a later date may be admitted ;
and that the destruction of City D may prove to be attributable
to the reconquest of Syria by Thutmose III early in the XVth
century b.c.
However that may be, the history of City C falls clearly within
the period of Egyptian domination from Thutmose III to Ramses II,
in round figures 1450-1250 b.c. Its archaeological outline is well
described : the culture is that of the Late Bronze Age, characterised
here, as elsewhere, in its earlier phase by the importation of Cypriote
motives, and from 1400 b.c. onwards, or just earlier, by the infiltra-
tion of Mykenaean wares, which were soon seized upon as models
for local art. Historically, as all know, the Egyptian regime was
disturbed from time to time by local outbreaks severely repressed
by the Pharaohs, and, in particular, by the revolution which broke
out early in the XIVth century b.c., when the Pharaohs Amenhetep
III and IV failed to protect the inhabitants against the Habiru
invasion. The stratifications of Tell Beit Mersim, clearly interpreted
by Dr. Albright, tell a consistent story of these times. The whole
period is represented by two layers of occupation, each covered
by a layer of ashes which marks its end. In the upper layer was
THE ARCHEOLOGY OF PALESTINE AND THE BIBLE. 227
found a steatite scarab of Amenhetep III, with, part of its ring setting
still adherent, and also another scarab of Bamesside style : these
two objects roughly indicate the time-limits to that stratum, which
was further distinguished by the appearance of Mylcenaean wares.
Other objects found in these strata are carefully examined, and
include a stone table of offerings with three lions in relief around
the rim, several different types of Astarte figurines, and at least six
Astarte plaques representing the naked Syrian goddess. In his
discussion of the latter, Dr. Albright pauses before a group of
the Qadesh ” style, in which the head of the goddess is covered
with a feather crown, and points out that this feature has hitherto
been often regarded erroneously as some sort of mural crown or
calathos. He has studied all the relevant material from Mesopotamia
and the eastern Mediterranean basin in an effort to trace the original
home of this interesting feature, which, in the early Iron Age,
becomes prominent as the headdress of the Philistine invaders.
For this reason, and in accordance with classical tradition, Dr.
Albright inclines to assign it to an Anatolian origin. This may be
right, but there is a piece of evidence from the upper Nile which
ought to be taken into consideration. This is the fact that the
goddess Anuket, who at Sahel and Elephantine is seen to have
occupied with Khnum and Satet a position in the Cataract Triad,
wears a feather headdress identical with that later worn by the
Philistines. It is true that her worship was apparently confined
to Upper Egypt and Nubia, but her parentage ( ££ daughter of Ba 5 ’)
suggests a northern origin. Her cult dates back to the time of
Senusret I, and was particularly respected in the early XVIIIth
Dynasty by the Pharaohs Thutmose III and Amenhetep II, whose
reigns fall within the period of city C at Tell Beit Mersim,
It is clear from Dr. Albright’s discussion that the feather head-
dress made its appearance in Canaan before the advent of the
Philistines, for this phase of the city’s life came to an end before the
typical Philistine wares appeared. The culture of city C was
Canaanitish, even in its upper stratum; and we must agree that there
is no trace therein of any Israelitish settlement. The city was burnt
and re-occupied, with a new pre-Philistine culture, in the second
half of the XHIth century b,c. Dr, Albright reminds us that the
Merneptah stele, which is the first “ absolute datum,” tells of the
defeat of the people of Israel by Merneptah during the same half-
228 THE ARCHEOLOGY OF PALESTINE AND THE BIBLE,
century, roughly about 1225 B.c, The allusion in our opinion is not
apposite. If the fall of Kiriath Sepher is to be regarded as covered
by this reference, then the Israelites must have been in occupation
of the city from the time of Amenhetep III, having adopted town
life and Canaanitish culture spontaneously and wholeheartedly, and
without trace of the change. This, as Dr. Albright himself points
out (p. 99), would involve the rejection of the early historical tradi-
tions of Israel almost completely. Nor can that episode account
for the fall of the city about 1225 at the hands of Egypt, if, as we
believe. Dr. Albright is right in assigning the next phase of occupa-
tuon, B 1, which followed immediately, to the Israelites or their
southern allies. The Merneptah stele seems to be introduced by
him as a chronological peg upon which to hang his own views as
to the nature and date of the Israelitish conquest. “ In spite of all
that has been written in favour of a higher date for the principal
phases of the Conquest, (p. 100), it is very difficult to reconcile
the traditions of Israel with a date before the latter part of the
reign of Rameses the Great, e.g., before 1250 at the earliest.’ 5 In
further explanation of the author’s views, we find a clear statement
in the notes on p. 197 (n. 81) :
“ There is now a strong tendency to date the Conquest about
1400 b.c. The writer’s view is that the Conquest began in the times
of the Patriarchs, as described in Gen. xxxiv, xlviii 22, etc., and
continued intermittently during the subsequent period, with one
phase in the late sixteenth or early fifteenth century (Jericho and
Ai), and a culminating triumph after the establishment of the Israelite
confederation by Moses in the second half of the thirteenth century
B.C.”
It would evidently take us too far' to discuss this view in detail,
but we venture to offer a friendly challenge to Dr. Albright to
produce any evidence, literary or material, in support of the last
phase in this process, r or its date.
Moreover, if the Merneptah stele is to be explained topographic-
ally, it recognises a cc people Israel ” as an element in the population
of the centre or north of Palestine, and distinguished specifically from
the south, which is mentioned by its own name, Kharu. It may,
and very likely does, refer to the neighbourhood of Shechem, the
earliest to be occupied . But who, having read the narrative critically,
THE ARCHEOLOGY OP PALESTINE AND THE BIBLE. 229
can suppose that the settlement became effective in a generation, or
even in a century ? In any case, there is a strong suggestion that
the capture of “ Debir 53 was not a contemporary event. But
whatever the argument, the fact remains, that Israelite tradition
bears no trace of a conquest or “ Mosaic movement ” (p. 167) in
the Xlllth century b.c. That profound event, and the entry of
Israel under Joshua, are referred alike by direct statement in the
Book of Kings, and by analysis of data in the Book of Judges, to
the latter half of the fifteenth century b.c. ; and such archaeological
evidence as is available supports the Biblical tradition.
Much misconception as to the nature of Israel’s Settlement
and the imagined need for cc reconstruction ” of the Biblical account,
would be removed if scholars would pay due regard to the processes
of assimilation actually taking place to-day. Tribesmen used to
nomadic or pastoral life do not, indeed cannot, adopt town life and
ways in a year or within a generation. In Trans -Jordan the
Alkawiyeh (of whom the Edwan are a leading branch) and the Beni
Sakher, both originally desert tribes, are gradually settling, but the
process in both cases has taken more than 200 years. In the writer’s
opinion this factor explains the absence of material traces of the
Israelite penetration throughout the latter half of the late Bronze
Age. During this time the Israelites still mostly abode in tents ;
and when in accordance with their needs or instincts, tent dwellers
move their camp, they leave behind little or no durable trace of
their presence.
*
The third and concluding chapter of Dr. Albright’s book dealing
with cc The Bible in the Light of Archaeology ” is of marvellous
interest, and will be read carefully by all who desire to keep abreast
of modern research in that connection. The author’s scholarship,
his ready command of all useful languages, and his intimate know-
ledge of what others are doing the world over, render this part of
his study indispensable to students. It will, indeed, astonish
many readers.. Divesting his subject of all prejudice and super-
stition, he deals with the problems from the standpoint of common-
sense. After some preliminary observations on the bearing of
archseology on Biblical problems, he selects for discussion three
particular questions : The Age of the Patriarchs in the Light of
Archaeology, the Law of Moses, and the Age of the Exile and
230 THE ARCHEOLOGY OF PALESTINE AND THE BIBLE.
the Restoration. We sincerely hope he will expand these contribu-
tions, and it is obvious from the illuminative footnotes that he
does not lack material for the purpose. His familiarity with the
established critical position gives special value to his own opinions ;
as seen, for example, in the pithy note at the foot of p. 213, where
he shows reason to believe that the dates given by the Wellhausen
school to the redaction of J and E are too high, considerably too
high in the former case, and must follow the height of the prophetic
movement, not precede it. With this most students will now agree.
Indeed, E, in some respects, seems to embody the more substantial
proportion of the older documents. There is much, no doubt, that
Dr. Albright might tell us as to the original sources ; but he leaves
us in no doubt as to the historical origins of Biblical tradition.
John Garstang.
231
NOTICES OF BOOKS AND JOURNALS.
Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum. Pars secunda , inscriptiones
Aramaicas continens. Tomus III , fasciculus primus . Paris,
1926.
The Paris Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres has
generously presented to the library of the Fund another fascicule
of the great collection of Semitic inscriptions at which it has been
engaged for something like half-a-century. Nearly 4,000 Phoenician
and Punic inscriptions, nearly 1,000 Old South Arabian inscriptions,
and over 3,000 Aramaic inscriptions have already been published,
and now in the present volume nearly 340 Palmyrene inscriptions
have been collected and edited with full notes. The eminent
French scholar, M. J. B. Chabot, to whom we owe the volume, is so
well-known for his work in the field of. Semitic epigraphy that it
need only be said that the fine edition of Semitic inscriptions under-
taken by the Franck savants fully maintains its high level of scholar-
ship, and that the admirable labours of the French in epigraphical
and archaeological research — and every reader of the Q. S. will
recall the work of the late Clermont-Ganneau again put all friends
of Semitic studies in their debt. That the volume will be indis-
pensable goes without saying, and while English students will always
continue to find G. A. Cooke’s admirable Textbook of North-Semitic
Inscriptions the best introduction to this field, the monumental
corpus familiarly known as the C.I.S. sooner or later imposes itself
upon one by reason of its unique store of information.
The Palmyrene inscriptions are, of course, those belonging to
the short-lived power of Palmyra, the ancient Tadmor, which lies in
the Syrian desert to the north-east of Damascus, about 150 miles
distant. It was an important trading centre, and many of the
Palmyrene inscriptions* relate to the u chief of the caravan or to
the “ chief of the market.” Palvmra flourished during the first
three centuries of the Christian era, and was at the height of its
prosperity about 130-270 a.b., when, after the fall of Zenobia, it
quickly decayed. Its part in the history of the Roman and Parthian
232
REVIEWS AND NOTICES.
conflicts is well-known, and Boman and Greek influences left their
mark upon both the administration and the language. The Palmy-
rene dialect was very closely related to that of the Nabataeans
(their southern neighbours) and of the “Aramaic 55 portions of the
books of Ezra and Daniel ; but as in the case of the Nabataeans
many of the personal names are Arab, though often Palmyrenes
jore Boman names as well. The phraseology is often of interest,
and sometimes might seem to suggest Jewish influence. In fact,
several Jewish names recur. One of the best-known phrases is
“ to him whose name is blessed for ever, the good and compassionate
one.” The god in question is left unnamed ; but the Palmyrenes
venerated a “ lord of the world (or of eternity),” and the Baal of
the Sky, or Heaven, occupied the first place. This god, Bel, as he
is called, had his temple at Palmyra, and his consort was Atargatis,
or the “ Syrian goddess ” of the classical writers.
It is interesting to observe that the cult of the god of the neigh-
bouring city of Baalbek spread to this country, to Carvoran, whence
also comes an altar to the “ Syrian goddess ” erected by men of
Hama (i.e., Hamath), archers employed by Hadrian in building the
Boman wall 1 . Indeed, the present fascicule of the C.I.S. starts off
(No. 3,901) with the one and only Palmyrene inscription found in
Great Britain, namely, at South Shields, in 1878. It is a stele
representing a seated woman. There is a bilingual inscription in
Palmyrene and Latin. The Latin runs D(is) m(anibus) i Regina
liberta et eonjuge Bamtes Palynrenus natione Oatuallauna an(nis) xxx.
Evidently the Palmyrene (who bears a well known name, meaning
u son of the [goddess] Ate ”) in the neighbouring Boman camp
had married the freed-woman Begina (a name found on other
Roman-British inscriptions) who was of the tribe of the native
Katouellani , mentioned by Dio Cassius (lx. 20).
A few remarks may be offered upon some of the other inscriptions.
No. 3,907 speaks of a monument (naphsha), the resting-place
of the bones of a certain woman ; here the word for “ bones ” is that
in the curious Uzziah tablet published in the Q.S. , October, 1931,
p. 218* No. 3,911 records the dedication of a pillar and roofing to
the c< great god ” of the city of Nazala, another illustration of the
1 See £S the Cult of Baal and Astarte in England,” October, 1909,
pp. 280-284.
RE VI JEWS AND NOTICES.
233
avoidance of a divine name. No. 3,913 is the most famous of all
Palmyrene inscriptions, an extensive tariff promulgated by the local
Senate, and noteworthy for the light it throws upon the trade of the
time 2 . A levy is laid upon importers of slaves, women, female
slaves, camels, skins, salt, food, “ pine cones and the like,” bronze
images, &c. The taxes were farmed out, and whereas usually the
absence of a fixed tariff leads to abuses, this Palmyrene inscription
abolishes the old bad usage when taxes were levied by custom, and
specifies fixed rates.
No. 3,946 speaks of Septimius Odainath as the tc Director of the
whole East ” {corrector totius provincice).
No. 3,955 mentions apparently the otherwise unknown god
“ Compassionate ” ( rakhem ) ; but here as often elsewhere there are
serious difficulties in the text 3 . In No. 3,972 a man erects an
£C abode ” (tashkeba) to his god, Satrapes (?), the good god, that he
and his family might have him as their patron {get). The same
word is used of patron and client, that is to say, the two sides of a
single relationship. 6. A. Cooke (p. 305) compares the double
sense of the German word Gastfreund. There are other examples of
this use in Palmyrene, and it is typical of Semitic to embody in
one word (or in two forms of a word) the two aspects which our
more advanced thought distinguishes. So it is that in Hebrew
the word for £< sin ” means also the natural and inevitable effects
(“ punishment ”), and there are other examples. No. 3,994 consists
of identical bilinguals ; and it is to be noticed that there are varia-
tions in both the Greek and the Palmyrene texts.
The volume is sumptuously printed. A special Palmyrene type
has been employed, and where necessary the epigraphical peculiari-
ties are reproduced. Plates containing the facsimiles are to accom-
pany the next fascicule.
2 The bibliography throughout is so complete that it may be worth while
to draw attention here to the failure to refer to A. A. Be van’s commentary on
Daniel (pp. 214 ff) where the introduction of the tariif is published with notes.
3 This is not the place for philological notes. Attention may, however, be
drawn to such cruces as iia No. and the title in No. 4,064f.
234
REVIEWS AND NOTICES.
History of Palestine and Syria to the Macedonian Conquest . By
A. T. Olmsteacl. Scribner’s Sons, 1931, 36s.
This is an exceedingly handsome volume of about 700 pages
and nearly 200 illustrations, plans, and a large map. The author,
Professor of Oriental History at the University of Chicago, is already
well known for his companion volume, the History of Assyria , and
smaller works ; and, as he tells us (p. 625), hopes to bring out a
later volume on the history of the Greco-Roman Orient. This book
will be welcomed as much for its wealth of illustration as for the
illuminating way in which Professor Olmstead has sought to make
the Old Testament and its background a living unity. Starting
from what we now call Pre-history and Proto-history, he has woven
together the evidence of the monuments, the" results of excavation,
and the Old Testament, and the volume as a whole can be cordially
recommended as a bright, readable and highly attractive introduc-
tion to the deeper and more intricate problems that, sooner or later,
confront the student.
So we are taken from Serabit in the peninsula of Sinai up to
Sendschirli and Carchemish ; and Sodom, Beth-Shemesh, Beth-Shan,
Byblus and a host of other places are brought before us as occasion
demands. There is little that has not been used for illustrative
matter, and the reader who carefully peruses the text and illustra-
tions will gain an excellent idea of what is being done — and also
what remains to be done, in order to make the results of modern
research less incomplete.
A few points invite notice. There are most interesting para-
graphs on the origin of the alphabet (pp. 93 1, 235 f .). The invading
Khabiru of the Amarna Letters are identified with the Hebrews,
and the name of Joshua himself is even discovered in the Amarna
Letters east of the Jordan in Gilead (pp. 159, 197). The estimate of
Jehu is noticeably harsh (p. 402). After the fall of Samaria, the
deported captives, who were the higher classes, “ swung the weight
of Hebrew influence to Mesopotamia, which long remained a
centre of the best Hebrew thought 59 (p. 460). The story of Mordecai
and Esther (“ names invoking pagan deities ”) is explained in a
novel way, following the lines of Hoschander’s monograph (p. 614).
Good use is made of the recently discovered Ras Shamra tablets
HE VIEWS AND NOTICES.
235
(p.239, etc.). Objects with the name of the Hyksos king Khian
have been found at Crete and Baghdad, but Prof. Olmstead wisely
observes that they point to diplomatic or trade relations rather than
— as is sometimes guessed — to conquest. The explanation of Hosea’s
marriage implies that Israel, like the prophet’s wife, had been
perfectly honest in accordance with her lights (p. 437).
The Code of Hammurabi and the Pentateuchal laws are com-
pared, but the Assyrian code seems to be ignored (pp. 107 j[f.). Archaeo-
logical material is sometimes introduced without an indication
of its date, e.g., the (late) god of Baalbek (p. 118), Derceto of Ashkelon
(p. 266), and the god Marna of Gaza (p. 269). Such an equation
as Dudn (of the Amarna Letters) with “ a David ” is rather mystify-
ing to the ordinary reader (p. 178), for whom, also, the names on the
plan of Jerusalem are probably too small (p. 317). Professor
Olmstead prefers such spellings as mb shage (p. 477), but <c Quril or
Cyril ” (p. 434) is, to say the least, misleading.
A selection is given of the “ royal jar stamps 99 (p. 466), but the
inclusion of the seal in the top left-hand corner (= Corpus Inscr.
SemiL ii, 82, seal of s-s-r-el) is somewhat bewildering to the reader.
In fact, it is not always easy to find the letterpress relating to each
illustration (Pig. 174 f. on p. 420, Pig. 177 on p. 528). The view
that the important papyrus of 419 b.c., of the Jews in Elephantine,
shows that the feast of unleavened bread is being introduced for the
first time, and by orders of a Persian king (p. 605), needs surely a
little expansion on the lines of Cowley’s discussion (No. 21, to which
there is merely a reference). Such abruptness is not uncommon
(e.g. } the tribe of Ephraim took its name from the wild bull it had
worshipped in the desert, p. 201). It should be added that Professor
Olmstead observes that the ruined fort described by Woolley and
Lawrence (Wilderness of Zin, p. 64) was discovered by his party,
May 28, 1905, so that the statement of priority (p. 64 n. 1) should
be corrected accordingly.
All in all, the reader will find here much to interest and instruct
him ; and Professor Olmstead’s book, along with the recent works
of Lods (now translated into English), Toussaint, Garstang, Albright,
not to mention others, will serve still further to popularise the fruits
of research in the fascinating field of archaeology.
REVIEWS AND HOTICES.
236
Posthumous Essays . By Harold M. Wiener, M.A., LL.B. Oxford
University Press, 1932. 7s. 6d.
Mr. Herbert Loewe, Header in Eabbinics, Cambridge University,
has here published some essays of the late Harold Marcus Wiener,
whose tragic end in the Jerusalem riots of August, 1929, will not be
readily forgotten (Q.S., 1929, p. 191/.). The deceased gentleman had
not revised his MS., and there were gaps and obscure passages which
it was difficult to make good. . But these essays, which are now issued
in accordance with his testamentary instructions, are published, as
Mr. Loewe writes, “ not merely ex testamento , but rather ex yietateP
Mr. Wiener had had a legal training, and was a Whewell Scholar
at Cambridge. A convinced and strict Jew, he devoted himself
to Old Testament study in order to substantiate the Mosaic author-
ship of the Pentateuch, and to refute what has become the modern
position of Biblical criticism. If, on the one hand, his often unneces-
sarily vigorous writings did not exercise the influence he had hoped,
on the other hand, there were sides of his personality which gained
him the esteem of those who knew the man as he was. The essays
here collected give a good idea of all that Wiener stood for : his
interest in history, archaeology and law ; his readiness to re-arrange
and correct the Biblical text — the “ hotchpot,” he calls it (p. 39,
note) ; his fulminations against the modern “ Documentary Hypo-
thesis ” ; and a certain attitude towards the authors of views with
which he disagreed which was resented. For my part, I think I
have read almost everything that Wiener wrote, and have found
it useful to have before me the opinions of a worker who, by
temperament and training, approached the Pentateuch from a stand-
point not held by most students of the Bible.
Barhebrwus J Scholia on the Old Testament . I. Genesis . — II. Samuel.
By Martin Sprengling and W, C. Graham. The University of
Chicago Press.
In this, Vol. XIII of the University of Chicago Oriental Institute
Publications, the Professor of Semitic Languages and the Old
REVIEWS AND NOTICES.
237
Testament Professor of the University present in sumptuous form
what, at first glance, might seem to be one of the least useful of
undertakings. Yet not only is the work of Barhebrseus of importance
for a deeper study of the Syriac version of the Old Testament, but
this old thirteenth century writer is one of the outstanding men of
the Middle Ages. Noldeke in an excellent and entertaining sketch
of the old Jacobite writer, summed up : e< Altogether he was one
of the most eminent men of his Church and nation/’ The value
of his Scholia lies in the fact that in that age men put all their
knowledge into their interpretation of the Bible ; so that when the
writer is a great humanist, as Barhebrseus was, his writings become a
storehouse in which readers of most varied interests will find it worth
while to delve.
The volume gives in facsimile the oldest text of the “ Storehouse
of Mysteries, 55 as it was called, with notes, collations of MSS. and a
full page-by-page translation. Among points that call for notice
may be mentioned, first, the allegorical method of interpretation,
often carried to excessive and absurd lengths ; the statement that
every Philistine king was called “Abimelech, 55 that is, says Barhebrseus >
father and king, like the Pharaoh of Egypt and the Koman Caesar ;
Joseph’s coat is one with long sleeves (see Driver’s note on 2 Sam.
xiii. IS sq.) ; Moses was called by his parents MalkeL The prohibi-
tion not to boil the kid in its mother’s milk means that it is not
to be killed while living on its mother’s milk, or it is*not to be boiled
in it ; in the former case it admonishes men to show mercy, in the
latter it has a symbolical meaning. Honey is not to be offered
(Lev. ii, 11 sq.) because the bee is unclean and alights on dead
bodies. The bat suckles from behind (pp. 15, 163). Azazael is God
Almighty — it is not the name of Michael, nor is it Satan as the
Manichieans say, but in both the goats is represented the Messiah,,
who died as man and lives as God (p. 169). The wizards (yadu c e)
do their soothsaying by members of the bodies of men, and the
shoulder-blades of sheep. On Dent, xxxiv, 8, he says : “ it is
probable that Joshua the son of Nun wrote these last words. 5 ’
Baal is an image of Nebo who is Hermes (p. 279). Chemosh is
Ivronos (p. 287). As a parallel to the <c Shibboleth, 55 he observes
that in his day the Ma‘addites pronounce ^like g and the Palestinians
like Micah’s Levite was son of Manasseh, son of Gershon, son
of the great Moses. On 1 Sam. v 5, he says that the Mongols
238
REVIEWS AND NOTICES.
similarly step over the threshold. 2 Sam. xii, 30 ; the crown of their
king weighed 12,000 half -shekels ; precious was the crown in value
and not in metal by reason of the precious stones : in other words,
Barhebrseus takes the measure to be one of value and not weight.
The editors state 'that good progress has been made in pre-
liminary work, chiefly in Doctors’ theses, by younger and less
'experienced nien ; and Professor Sprengling himself has written an
article on <£ Scapulimancy and the Mongols ” (in the American
A nthrofologist ). The whole work is within sight of completion, and the
editors are to be thanked for a particularly arduous but highly
valuable piece of work.
S. A. C.
“A book that is shut is but a block ”
GOVT. OF INDIA ^
Department of Archaeology
^ NEW DELHI. ^
O
Please help us to keep the book
clean and moving.
S. B., 1 48. N. DELHI.
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11